COLUMN: Kony campaign not the entire solution
A recent screening of Kony 2012 in northern Uganda generated so much anger it started a riot. Why?
“There is no historical context,” reported a prominent Ugandan journalist. “It’s more like a fashion thing.”
That’s my problem with the Kony movement. It’s kitschy and gaudy – pop-politics calculated to appeal to the masses rather than reflect the reality of central Africa.
In saying this I mean no insult to Invisible Children – the non-profit responsible for the Kony movement. Instead, the target of my criticism is the average American.
Invisible Children produced dumbed-down pop-politics because it would catch our ear. A real discussion of central Africa’s problems would have been largely ignored. How do I know? Because such discussions have been held on legitimate sources such as BBC, Al Jazeera and Foreign Affairs, yet, we don’t pay attention to them. It was a slick YouTube video that, according to Ugandans, was more about an American and his child than Uganda.
What about the Kony campaign causes serious students studying politics and the president of Uganda to roll their eyes? It oversimplifies the conflict by narrowly focusing on a single figure.
I support bringing Kony to justice, but it will do little to solve central Africa’s problems. Hitler’s death did not win World War II, nor did Fascism arise because of him; it was won due to the product of socio-political circumstances. Likewise, we won’t solve Africa’s problems, or even dismantle the Lord’s Resistance Army, by incarcerating Kony.
Solving these issues takes a significant amount of time and energy from many people. In the big picture, capturing Kony is merely a drop in the bucket. Real change is more than liking a Facebook status, watching a half-hour pseudo-documentary or even purchasing an “action kit.”
Many will criticize my comments, saying that at least people are trying to get involved and doing something is better than doing nothing. This is true, and I applaud people for doing what they know they can do. I believe that humans today reach out to help complete strangers more than ever before in history. I also believe, however, that we aren’t doing enough. When are we going to take this seriously?
So what can you really do to make a difference? Start by becoming informed. For once, I agree with Bill Maher when he said, “If you watched that video … and were shocked to discover that such terrible people live in the world, you need to fire whoever is homeschooling you.”
Joseph Kony may be No. 1 on the International Criminal Court’s list of people indicted, but he is one of many. Each one is the product of a certain environment. The social conditions creating such men pose the real threat. We need to be aware of these issues.
Second, we must examine how we live. We aren’t alone, but the U.S. is a spoiled country. As long as we live comfortably, too many are content being bystanders as others grapple with the impossible circumstances they were born into.
I am not implying we should all book a trip to Africa or donate all our earnings to charity. The world needs entrepreneurs, artists and engineers as much as social activists. Whatever you do, though, give back somehow. Don’t be a bystander. We can all do more than change our Facebook status or wear a trendy bracelet.
We’ll be surprised by how many problems disappear if we are cognizant of them, but I may be preaching to the choir. In all likelihood, those reading this column aren’t the ones who needed to.
- Mike Burnham is a junior majoring in international relations and economics. Comments can be sent to him at mike.burnham@gmail.com.