Friday, March 16, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Everyone is a Social Activist
So there is a video that has been circling the internet for the past week in relation to Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army. This has sparked numerous conversations with friends and acquaintances alike on the issue. Apparently, this 30 minute video clip was able to spark social activism in the masses of social networking sites and now everyone is an authority on Joseph Kony and his organization. I, personally, only watched about 10 minutes of the video clip having known about the LRA for quite some time. The rage that this video has incited in people who ignorant of happenings around the world is quite humurous and I have enjoyed reading posts on the matter.
I have been asked the question quite a few times on my stance on this issue. Believe it or not, I was asked twice why I had not linked the video clip (a very annoying question indeed). My response has been the same, I simply do not care enough about an issue that is relatively trivial to myself, my family, or my country. That is not to say that I support Kony, I simply have other things to worry about. What happens in Uganda is of relatively little interest to me, sitting here in the United States. Joseph Kony has been operating for years and has had no affect on my life to date so why should I start caring now?
When I am challenged, I enjoy returning the favor. I have asked everyone that has questioned my views on the issue if they would support sending troops to stop Kony. Most said "Yes", an idea I found hilarious since they are the same people who criticize the country for our ongoing military operations in Afghanistan. So, basically, they support risking the lives of American troops to stop a Ugandan warlord who poses little to no threat on the United States, instead of conducting operations against terrorists who have already proven that they are a threat to the United States.
Sorry, I personally am against risking an American life for a few thousand Ugandans over a few thousand fellow Americans.
For those who said "No" to military intervention, they supported working with the Ugandan government to stop the LRA. If one wants to pump money into an overly corrupt government, go right ahead.
In the end, this issue is not going to be resolved and, quite frankly, I do not care.
I have been asked the question quite a few times on my stance on this issue. Believe it or not, I was asked twice why I had not linked the video clip (a very annoying question indeed). My response has been the same, I simply do not care enough about an issue that is relatively trivial to myself, my family, or my country. That is not to say that I support Kony, I simply have other things to worry about. What happens in Uganda is of relatively little interest to me, sitting here in the United States. Joseph Kony has been operating for years and has had no affect on my life to date so why should I start caring now?
When I am challenged, I enjoy returning the favor. I have asked everyone that has questioned my views on the issue if they would support sending troops to stop Kony. Most said "Yes", an idea I found hilarious since they are the same people who criticize the country for our ongoing military operations in Afghanistan. So, basically, they support risking the lives of American troops to stop a Ugandan warlord who poses little to no threat on the United States, instead of conducting operations against terrorists who have already proven that they are a threat to the United States.
Sorry, I personally am against risking an American life for a few thousand Ugandans over a few thousand fellow Americans.
For those who said "No" to military intervention, they supported working with the Ugandan government to stop the LRA. If one wants to pump money into an overly corrupt government, go right ahead.
In the end, this issue is not going to be resolved and, quite frankly, I do not care.
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