Kony 2012 is a film created by Invisible Children, Inc. which became a viral video.[2][3][4][5] The film's purpose is to promote the charity's 'Stop Kony' movement to make indicted Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony internationally known in order to arrest him in 2012.[6]
The film has spread virally.[7][8][9] As of 9 March 2012[update], the film currently has over 15.5 million views on Vimeo,[10] and over 65 million views on video-sharing website YouTube,[11] with other viewing emanating from a central "Kony2012" website operated by Invisible Children. The intense exposure of the video caused the "Kony 2012" website to crash shortly after it began gaining widespread popularity.[12] The video has also seen a number of celebrities endorsing the campaign including Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Christina Milian, Nicki Minaj, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian.[8][13][14][15][16] On April 20, 2012, as part of the campaign, supporters will put up posters promoting Kony 2012 in their home towns. Invisible Children offers posters from an online shop in an attempt to gain wider recognition on the issue. They have also created action kits that include campaign buttons, posters, bracelets, and stickers to help spread awareness.
I was surprised to see that, among my Facebook friends, opinion was divided as whether this a good thing or not. So, I decided to watch for myself. After watching ( most of the film) I don't really have an opinion as to whether its a good or bad idea. Hopefully, the film has made people,especially Americans, aware that there is whole big world outside of their normal comfort zones and that evil exists even if we choose not to look.
The one scene that stood out to me was when the narrator promises a young boy that he will stop Kony. Thats the point in the film where I have a problem. I work with hurting children ,many of whom have or will experience unthinkable evil in their lives and, as much as I would like to, I can't promise to stop it. The only thing I can promise them is that God loves them. I have to admit that I don't understand why God allows horrible things to happen to children, but He does and he is God and I'm not.
Even if the stop Kony campaign is sucessful, not much will change for these children. There are plenty of evil people in line to take his place. A wonderful, no cost education system will not suddenly appear. Abundant food will not suddenly fill their tummies. So what exactly does that promise mean?
I believe in giving money to causes. I'm a missionary my life depends on donations and I know first hand the blessing of abundant funds and what can be accomplished with them. I also know all to well the struggle and frustation of not being able to do the programs I want to do because of lack of funds. I can't stand it when people invest more in their morning coffee than they do to help others. So, if this film moves you to donate your time and money--great. But, please think long and hard about where you send your money. Will plastering posters across town really make life any different for these children? What about all those other missionaries and aide workers who invest their funds in actually helping someone else and can't afford professionally produced videos?
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