The Butterfly Isn't Effecting

We seem to be losing celebrities at a fast pace these days. For one reason or another, the people we know and love on the big screen are leaving us for a different plane. The tragedy is then further exacerbated when we find out that they were secretly battling cancer, ALS, or some other sickness or disease that they did not want everyone to know about. However, the light comes when we find out that a large portion of their estate gets donated to a cause they believed in, usually a cure for what ailed them. Then, usually within a few years, the organization behind a cure for the ailment makes progress. So, the question begins to develop in my head, if celebrities did not die, would we make as quick as progress on curing sickness as we have? In other words, is there a Butterfly Effect between people with a chunk of money and fixing human problems? I know this is probably an oversimplification, but it stands to reason: a celebrity gets sick and then cures for their sickness gets pushed. Alex Trebek passed a few years ago from pancreatic cancer. Patrick Swayze was before him. Donations for research for the particular form of cancer have poured in, and, recently, they have made progress on cures for the disease. It does not just affect dying celebrities though. Look at all the work Michael J. Fox has done for Parkinson’s Disease. I don’t think the research on that disease would have progressed near as far with Mr. Fox’s contributions. Moreover, I think if celebrities, with all their reach, did not put it out there that you can, in fact, donate to help with the research, that any progress would be made. Least of all, with the word of how dangerous these ailments are, we understand that cures need to be found. I am not saying that all celebrities need to take a platform on one disease or another, but if losing our beloved Tinseltown residents leads to cures for most cancers and things like diabetes, then at least the universe is trying to balance a scale. Maybe if we all worked a little harder at pushing the cure agenda, maybe we would not lose our loved ones even if they do play on the big screen. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.