7/25/25-Rubber Bracelet
Over the past 40 years of my life I have had an on and off relationship with rubber bracelets. The first stage I can remember was way back in the 80’s when Madonna released her first two albums, Madonna and Like a Virgin. I can remember the way she filled her entire forearm with different shapes and colors of relatively cheap rubber bracelets. Let’s face it, it was part of her early image.
And I have to admit I might have worn a jelly bracelet or two in my early teens because I liked her music (among other things).
In the early 2000’s I got really into cycling. I would spend time every morning in July watching the amazing athletes in the Tour de France ride up mountains like they weren’t even there, fearlessly descend at death defying speeds and dive across finish lines with no regard for their body. The leader for those years was Lance Armstrong. I know time hasn’t been kind to him and his legacy, but he did go through a cancer battle and returned to dominate a sport that was riddled with pharmaceutical help (himself included).
The other byproduct of his success was those bright yellow rubber bracelets. You would buy them by the dozen. Everyone was wearing them. I know I was wearing one for years, both to honor his accomplishments on the bike and his beating cancer. As I said, I know his legacy is a tarnished one, but I still do admire him for what he did, and simply erasing his victories on the bike don’t change the way I feel about him. But that’s probably best left for its own post.
After that is seemed like everyone had their own rubber bracelet. You could make them super cheap by the thousands. Any color, any width, any text. Every cause had a bracelet. People were using them to advertise their business. Sport teams had them made so people could show their support. I even remember seeing a dentist giving out ones to kids who were “Cavity Free.”
But the one I remember most is the “WWJD.” What would Jesus do? I have to be honest, I’ve never been a fan of the WWJD campaign. I always found it kinda silly. I doubt Jesus would be doing commercials or putting himself on billboards, much less a bracelet.
That being said, the message is actually a good one. Whether or not you are a Christian, most organized religions do agree there was a man in the 1st century named Jesus. And he spent his life preaching peace and loving ones neighbor. He wasn’t a pushover, but while accepting faults he always tried to see the good in people. He taught forgiveness.
Maybe we can learn a lesson from the WWJD campaign. Before making a judgment or decision would we be better off considering just for a moment what a 1st century Rabbi would do? I think we might.
Maybe its time to get another rubber bracelet.
