The President, the Prime Minister, the Acting Police Commissioner, the Auxiliary Bishop and other dignitaries have put dignity on the side and taken part in this ostentatious ice bucket challenge that is all the rage right now.

It is fine by me if these people don’t mind looking silly. What, however, I find objectionable is the waste of one or two gallons of water every time this stunt is pulled off.

It’s all for a good cause, one might say. Ask the thirsty in Syria, the Yazidis (above) and Christian refugees in Iraq and other groups who don’t have a drop to drink whether this is the way to go about raising awareness for a disease that they will probably never live long enough to suffer from.

I find it sad that we have to resort to ‘ice bucket’ inanities to attract attention to a cause. But it could be symptomatic of the times, where an ever-increasing portion of society wants to be seen, at any cost.

We could see to that desire in a more cost-effective and environmentally correct way.

The challenge could be modified to having a bucket of wet sand thrown over the nominee at a beach. And if that’s not showy enough, the Rinella water tank could be rigged up to have the nominees walk the plank. That should cause a splash!