I'm cynical enough to have gotten a similar vibe from the article. People tend to go through life never giving a second thought to others' misfortunes and suffering: disabilities, cancer, suicide, etc. Then someone they love is affected, and suddenly it becomes their lifelong "cause"; every waking moment is spent trying to make others pay attention to a topic they themselves turned a blind eye to for years because it never affected them directly. A new charity fundraising event every other week (and repeatedly harassing family/friends/coworkers for donations); or becoming a speaker who travels to "share their wisdom" - but nobody is listening because, just like the speaker's own past self, their audience won't care until they are themselves touched by the same tragic event.

tldr; Advocating to get others to give a damn about something that will be experienced by a minority of people falls on deaf ears, because people really don't - and won't - care about something until it affects them personally.