A Lovely Little Nevermore

Today is Wishlist Wednesday, but I do not wish to talk about something I think would look nice in my closet. Today I’d just like to talk about Kony 2012. Here’s my opinion on the matter.

I’d like to start by saying how happy it makes me to see everyone banding together for one cause. It’s truly great. Everyone is sharing the same video and the same pictures on their corner of the internet in hopes that it’ll raise awareness. Many are even posting about covering the night, where they will cover a city with posters and stickers. Everyone, in this moment, is feeling warm and fuzzy in their efforts.

I feel that Kony shouldn’t be the only one targeted in this. What about the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni? He came into office around the same time that Kony began. Would president Obama over see the fact that thousands of children were being stolen in order to become soldiers and sex slaves? If so, would we keep him in office? NO. NO. NO.

We shouldn’t be asking for the attention of celebrities and US policy makers, we should be asking for the attention of Uganda’s president!! What has he been doing about this?? I would very much like to see a video about that.

I have a question for all of these Kony 2012 advocates. When did you hear about the non-profit organization Invisible Children? A week ago? Three days ago? Today? When you saw all of the posts about Kony and looked him up? It’s sad to me, because this organization has been around for many years now. However, did you know that only 32% of donations goes towards the cause? Did you know that the rest (approximately $1 million) goes towards funding the founder’s traveling expenses? Another $1 million goes towards their film making. They are NOT upfront with their profits and have been given a rating of 2 stars.

Why is it that a crime such as the horrific child abuse happening in Uganda, must be made “famous”  in order to gain our attention? Why does it need to become marketed? Why didn’t we read the articles about this problem years ago, and subsequently, why didn’t we spread the word then? This is OLD news.

Instead of reblogging images and videos, instead of sharing them on Facebook, why don’t we do something about it? I’m talking about taking action instead of simply spreading the word.

Are we no longer creative human beings? Can’t we sell items we’ve made in order to raise money for the cause (do NOT donate to Invisible Children)? Can we think of no other action than lifting a finger to click the “share” button?

If you cannot, perhaps you should power down your computer TODAY and go down to the local food bank. Go door to door to collect blankets and jackets for our homeless children. Donate your time to an organization wishing to help those in your own neighborhood. If you want to help the people of the world, maybe you should begin in your own town.

Sex trafficking happens WORLDWIDE. Child abuse is in your backyard. Yes, let’s stop the horrible acts occurring in Uganda, but why not stop it EVERYWHERE? Why is everyone banding together to stop ONE man, ONE country, ONE problem…when we’ve been enlightened to other situations by television and news articles for years and years?

Maybe we need fancy videos that pull at our heart strings. Maybe we need a big organization behind a cause in order to feel as if we can do something about it.

There are organizations in Uganda that have been stopping Kony for years now. While the Invisible Children video let’s you think that 30,000 children are currently involved, it has dwindled to less than 10,000 in recent years. This is STILL a problem, but is continuously being taken care of.

Don’t overlook the nightmares of the rest of the world. Devote a day to aiding the people of the country you live in.

More info:

http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

http://chrisblattman.com/2009/03/04/visible-children/