STOP KONY 2012

 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

The video that is sweeping the world about Joseph Kony is getting a lot of criticism and I have to ask why? First the video if you have not seen it:

When I finished watching this I was so excited at the prospect of so many people coming together from around the world to realize they have the power to change things and then using that power to stop some of the evil taking place. I did a search after I watched it to see if it was getting news coverage yet and what do I find? "Stop Kony: Cynical marketing plan?" Kony 2012 "Dumbing down conflict" "Why Stop Kony won't work" or how Invisible Children is supporting the deaths, rape and other horrible actions accused of the government of Uganda.

Ugh. That is what I thought. I was discouraged and even thinking of repealing my support...oh wait what is that thing that happens whenever someone tries to do the right and usually difficult thing? Opposition, criticism and selfishness seem to start coming from all sides. The fact is that Kony has done horrible things to thousands of people and is showing no sign of stopping soon. All I can think of is the outrage that followed Casey Anthony in this country all over the news, is thins not in the same vain? But the death and abduction of thousands is getting met with questions of the organization's procedures and motives, talk of how this is not what we should be focusing on their is other evil out there, and just covering how quickly this has spread through social media with the focus being on "oh look another Charlie bit my finger viral video spreading like crazy! Interesting." I am not saying that any of this criticism is unfounded but I am saying that all the criticism is just perpetuating the idea that nothing will change, nothing can change, and we have no power to try. That is untrue.

Is there other evil in the world besides Kony? YES. But it makes no sense at all to let other evils keep you from stopping any of them. I want this movement to spread so far and wide so that Kony is caught and the millions that supported it feel that change is possible and move on to all those other evils like corruption, human trafficking, and poverty.

"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change." - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.