I have two things I need to admit and make clear right off the bat:
First, any campaign, effort, attempts or movement that seeks out to stop an evil dictator doing terrible things, is a good thing and should be supported.
Second, when I watched the video for Kony 2012, I was inspired, fired up, amazed and wanted to do something about what these people were talking about, just like everyone else.
Although, I quickly discovered that I was jumping on a bandwagon because much of the reason I even watched this video, albeit reluctantly, (lets face it – it’s a half hour long, and who has that kind of time outside of primetime TV viewing?) was because everyone I knew was talking about it, and the thing went viral overnight.
I quickly realized that while I felt the message and the main purpose (not all the purposes) of the campaign – and in turn the video itself – were valiant and noble, and worth getting behind.
However, it didn’t take long for my analytically somewhat warped mind to quickly refocus on not just the video and the campaign itself, but rather the effect and the overall impact it was having on people and society as a whole.
One thing we can’t deny about the video is that it’s well produced, well directed, extremely well edited and had a fairly high budget according to public financial records from the organization that put it out there. For that reason, it’s bound to draw people’s attention, because it stirs with emotion and tickles just about every sense we have.
The problem that we’re discovering now, though, is that the people who the video is supposedly setting out to help, are coming out in droves and speaking against it. Some have said that the video is 10 years too late – that this is nothing more than a bunch of white guys trying to become famous on the backs of the poor and oppressed.
What bugs me most about it, though, is the amount of Christians who are coming forward and supporting this campaign because ‘it’s what Jesus wants us to do.’ You know – rise against evil, stand up for the ‘least of these’ and do what we can to make a difference in the world.
News flash, people: Jesus told us to do that long before YouTube did. And that’s what really peeves me off about it. Is the video good? Well, outside that it’s a one-sided, slightly biased propaganda machine, then yeah, it’s great. Is the campaign trying to do good? Yes, it is. But we have to remember that Joseph Kony isn’t the only problem the world has. He isn’t the only evil man that kills a lot of people in the world. He isn’t the only one who does unmentionable things to innocent people for his personal gain.
He’s just the only one with a high budget YouTube video.
So the question: is Kony just a bandwagon? And even is he is, does that eliminate the fact that we should be doing something about it and trying to evoke change?
The answer is simple: yes and no. The problem with Virality is that the video will be gone by the wayside in a month, and everyone will be moved on to something else. Will Kony be captured by then? Maybe. But probably not. Although one thing will still be the same, no matter what happens.
We will still be faced with a generation that would rather be inspired to invoke change in the world based on what a YouTube video says, than what the Bible says. Someone loan me a $150,000 so I can make a video about that, please.
In closing, I like what this girl has to say:
