Skepticism can blur important message

If you’ve been anywhere near Facebook lately, you should know something about Kony 2012.

If you’re unsure of what it is, or this is the first time you are hearing about it, allow me to explain.

Kony 2012 is a campaign project launched by the nonprofit charity Invisible Children. The group, which has been running since 2005, is focused on creating awareness and social action to end the violence in war-torn Uganda, which has been ravaged by leader Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has been stealing food and children to fill the ranks of the army to build up a rebel opposition to the standard way of government.

Invisible Children began with three documentary filmmakers visiting the country and discovering the problem. The filmmakers learned as much as they could along the way and returned to the United States to spread the message.

They have done so through various projects over the years — starting up clubs in schools to raise funds for schools in Uganda (Schools for Schools), touring USA college campuses for screenings of their documentary, and selling grass bracelets and other goods made by Ugandans to benefit the community.

Their current project and focus,” Kony 2012,” is a 30-minute documentary focusing specifically on Joseph Kony’s history of actions and where he comes from, and is supported by interviews from Ugandans affected by the LRA’s violence.

At the end, Invisible Children states its mission to stop at nothing to arrest Kony, as well as its Mission: 1. To make the world aware of the LRA by getting the film to as many people as possible; 2. channel energy from viewers into large-scale advocacy groups to campaign and help stop the LRA violence; and 3. operate programs on the ground in LRA-affected areas that provide protection, rehabilitation and development assistance.

Following the style of a presidential campaign for a call-to-arms, Kony 2012 was launched worldwide on March 5, hoping for success propelled by social media.

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter spread the word so quickly that 50,000 views March 12 grew into 50 million by March 14. Kony 2012 is a campaign to make Joseph Kony a household name, to make everyone know what he has done, what the problem is and lead them to a way to help solve the problem.

And, ultimately, lead to his arrest.

If anything, Invisible Children is in the ballpark of achieving that infamy for Kony.

The response hasn’t all been positive, though. Many bloggers and journalists are quick to attack the campaign after seeing how easily it spread. They soon began reporting that Invisible Children uses only 30 percent of its revenue to aid Ugandans and fight the issue, inferring the other 70 percent is pocketed by employees or used for office space.

Invisible Children responded to the critics, directing anyone interested to the group’s financial files of the last five years, including detailed charts displaying the precise use and division of funds, as well as responding to claims it was falsely claiming 503(c)(3) status and general attacks against their exact plans to arrest Kony.

I agree, it is human nature to hold some suspicions, especially in the case of something catching on as quickly as the Kony 2012 campaign, much in the fashion Occupy Wall Street or Planned Parenthood attacks were generated.

But why is it that in our society, as privileged first-world citizens with a (for the most part) well-functioning government, that we are so apt to attack something working for a positive impact asking for our help? Is it annoyance at a group asking for a dollar? What is that dollar worth to us, really? And would parting with it for a good cause like helping children learn to read and write be better than spending it on a diet soda at the vending machine down the hall?

I think so. We should begin to recognize and maintain our first-world, mostly middle-class status with a helping hand rather than an oversized ego.

Even if you do not agree, or decide to take action or interest in Kony 2012 or Invisible Children, at the very least respect and recognize the achievement of this rare momentum of a social justice campaign, especially one funneled through an artistic vision.

I urge you to take this example and look into other causes you have heard about, get educated on world issues or take part in other campaigns.

The American Cancer Society hosts a Relay For Life event, March of Dimes hosts a walking fundraiser for pre-natal sciences.

You may even find that you feel better about yourself when you do. And if you’re not up to it, pass along the information; you never know who may be interested in the cause. Action can go far, but a voice along the way helps, too.

Dylan Gette-King is a senior at Palmer High School.