I'm really glad that there is growing Awareness for Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. No doubt has there been atrocities in Uganda over the past three decades, especially involving children. The Invisible Children organization has been around for about 10 years raising awareness for this issue and they continue that campaign today with a video that celebrates Kony [not to praise his feats but to shame them and make him popular amongst the masses]. Now, this initiative [Kony2012] is trending all over the web and, inevitably, it will become a hype. Although I applaud the intent of the thousands [maybe millions] that will join this trend to spread the word through social media, there is one thing that concerns me.
I hope that people are not joining the awareness for the reason that it is a hype. The millions of children that have died in Africa are not meant to be represented by a hashtag. I hope people are not making decisions based off of emotions gathered from a video but rather from knowledge and fact finding. Emotions are a great motivation but it is only temporary (i.e.; most people have moved past Tibet, Somalia, Libya, etc). That is, people tend to forget after the emotional high.
The problem with Uganda and the children on Uganda is not just Joseph Kony but it is a good place to start. There are hundreds of Joseph Konys around the world and in the era we live in now, we can actually target them; shine a light on them via social media. However, it doesn't have to be a person we target but a behavior as well. Rather then attack Kony, we should learn and attack the environment, the surrounding, and the influence that made him who he is.
Nevertheless, for the first time, people can dictate change in the world in a relatively simple way because the web connects us across the globe. I'm glad that people are utilizing these tools to advocate justice but don't get stuck in the moment. Use this moment to launch your campaign against injustice.
You have a voice.
