that wars would never start

Is it wrong to appeal to pathos for a good cause? Ie. publish pictures which tap an emotion in order to get someone to donate money to the poor. Sure, the numbers and facts about hunger, poverty, etc. can be factually explained and used to convince someone to give to others – but tapping into empathy seems to be a more effective method. Is it manipulation or communication?

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I met a film major at Biola who was struck by the poverty he saw when visiting Africa on a church trip one summer. He decided to create a documentary to raise awareness of global poverty (while living on $1.25 a day), and he is planning to start a nonprofit enabling youth to combat poverty. Currently, he's trying to get funding for his project through a Pepsi contest.

I think it's a pretty cool project. It's easy to get overwhelmed with Social Justice causes, and it's easy to criticize something from the outside...

It's also easy to go to the Pepsi challenge website and vote for his project. Sure, Pepsi is using the giveaway for publicity. And this sort of setup allowing people to sit in their bedrooms and feel better about themselves through the click of a button. But hey – they should feel better about themselves – at least they're bothered enough to spend a couple minutes on it. Right?