I haven't shared the Kony video on Facebook.
Does that make me a terrible person?
I mean, maybe it's because by the time I found the time to watch it (tonight) it had already been posted so many times that my adding to the constant "So-and-so and 17 other friends shared a link" would have seemed redundant (although with this campaign, I guess that's the whole point). Maybe it's because I thought people wouldn't watch a 30 minute video if I shared it (after all, I didn't -- I waited until Invisible Children actually came to my university). But come on! I'm usually on top of this whole "Facebook sharing" thing! I'm behind on my game! (Actually I'm usually the person who starts "round 2" of a viral video, oblivious to the fact that everyone has already seen it months ago.)
I love the fervor, the passion with which people have greeted this video and this issue. They know it's important. They want to do something about it. I think that's great. I signed the little pledge card, hung up a poster in our dorm room, and yeah, I cried when I watched that video. I agree -- let's do something.
But there's something that's bothering me. Not with the issue, not with the campaign, the organization, or any of that (please do not think I am criticizing IC or this mission to see Joseph Kony brought to justice).
It's that nagging worry that this will be it.
I'm not accusing people of, "Oh, all of a sudden you care." YES, please care! I'm so glad you care now! Care now, because now is when you've heard about it!! We can hardly care when we do not know.
But the video expires December 31, 2012.
So what next?
Will this fizzle out?
Will this be it?
Lord willing, when it works, and this man is stopped -- what then?
Will we rejoice in the victory, but then simply return to our everyday lives?
There is a child soldier in Burma named Shwe Dara. He was nine years old when I purchased his dog tags this past summer. As of that moment, he was on active duty.
The story broke my heart. He was more than a concept, he was a name, a human being. For weeks, I clutched those tags close to my heart and whispered prayers for Shwe Dara, a child half my age forced to carry an AK-47 that I myself would have a hard time lifting.
And then the dog tags got too noisy to carry around. Other worries started occupying my mind. Shwe Dara was pushed to the back burner, his tags hung on a hook, and his name become unfamiliar on my tongue once more.
But he's still out there. Unless he's been killed -- God, may it not be -- he's still Shwe Dara, a little boy living in Burma with dreams and a personality and a favorite food. Has the ministry from which I learned his name rescued him? I don't suppose I'll ever know. But what I do know is that even though the novelty of his story has passed, his story is still going on; and thus, so should my love and my prayers and my support for this little boy.
So my question is: Now that you know stuff like this exists, what will you do? When this video no longer appears in your News Feed twelve times in an hour, will you still have a heart and a mind for the slave? Will you still plead for them on your knees? Will you speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, even when you have no reminder?
Will you remember? Because let me tell you, my friend, the children living in this hell certainly remember. This is not a fad to them. It's not a trend. It's not a viral video. It's their life.
And they are not the only ones. Millions of orphans live on the streets, sniffing glue to ease the hunger that gnaws at their stomachs. Billions of people live in poverty, drinking water that you and I wouldn't even deign to swim in. What about them? Could we take the enthusiasm with which we have met this cause, and go hard after helping them as well? "Stop At Nothing," say the posters. Will we stop at nothing for the billions of beautiful people left after this is over?
America knows now to be passionate. So let us continue to be passionate. Let us be educated and active, and never, EVER lose this fervor. If we fought like this for every cause, for every orphan, for every man woman and child living in poverty, can you imagine what could be done?? I am so glad this video got the ball rolling, but let's keep it going long after Kony is gone.
I am a hopeful, prayerful optimist that our nation can wake up and start fighting for something.
May this passion never end. Oh Lord...let us wake up, and NEVER fall back asleep.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -- when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" -Isaiah 58:6-7
