The Internet’s causes: KONY 2012

Even though internet access is far from becoming universal (and has in many ways contributed to the widening of the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries) it has shown the world that revolutions have new weapons.  The internet is shining its light on all of the injustices of the world, giving us a much more realistic sense of the complexity that comes with being a human being. We are small and insignificant individuals compared to the immensity of our planet, yet as the human race, we collectively hold the key to greatness.

There are a billion causes, all desperately crying for help. And the world is truly appalled by each of them: We see trending topics on Twitter, Facebook Pages created to support them, sharing of YouTube videos that give us a better view on “what’s happening in the world”.  As socially-conscious beings, it is natural that we realize that it is our task to take on, as privileged peoples with internet-access, to support these causes.

The problem is, as magnificent as the internet can be, it can also be relentless. This overexposure to information clouds our minds. We want everything and we want it fast. Yesterday’s cause is yesterday’s news. We have no memory when it comes to news. This represents a conundrum for the causes of the world: The internet is providing them with exposure which in consequence brings support but, being as volatile as it is, this exposure and support goes away as soon as another (newer) cause gains momentum. And these causes are not to be dealt with lightly. They deserve our attention and full support. Their goals deserve our observation and backing until they are reached.

This week, the Online Community has placed its eyes upon the situation regarding the use of Child Soldiers by Joseph Kony in his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  For the past two days, a video by Invisible Children has been circulating the web and Twitter’s trending topics have flooded the world. This is a very delicate situation and I am personally glad that concern has been raised for a cause that is far from new. But I consider this concern problematic. The issue with this way to target the situation is that they are raising money for awareness in a very consumerist manner.

The Action kits and the promise of April 20^th are marketing ideas: Mere awareness and protest will not reach Kony. These tactics might be efficient with other causes (such as the Occupy Movements or the LGBT Equality Movements) that do considerably benefit from awareness and protest. But in the remote Ugandan territory, Joseph Kony sits guarded by his army of children, unaware and untouched by whatever puppetshows we in the Western World choose to put on. This is a matter that cannot be solved by buying bracelets.

Instead of putting our money and our time on merchandise we can show off, we should write to the already established organizations that can actually do something to remedy this. These organizations are UN-Based: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). We should invest our time in flooding the International Criminal Court (ICC) with petitions to continue its work in Uganda.   We could support the NGO’s that already specialize in these matters and have experience dealing with Child Soldiers, such as the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (CSUCS). This is a matter that has to be dealt with special intervention. It is not a soldier-to-soldier war, special troops are needed to intervene with caution because the opposition is armed, but it is also made of civilians and most importantly, children. Our World Order already has organizations that are built to deal with this situation. In this scenario, all we can do is ask them to do their jobs.

We are constantly seduced by causes with YouTube videos with original scores or logos that are complexly photoshopped and polished. How often do we really question if these foundations that require our aid, have validity? They are all well intentioned, but are they really efficient? The small amount of time that we put away for activism should be occupied by causes in which we can make an impact. Our money should go to foundations that make an impact. It is our duty as supporters of causes to revise the viability of these foundations’ pledges.  It is our duty to empower them, but also to question them.

In spite of its praise for the KONY2012 movement (and its tone), this article (in Spanish) raises a valid point. Our generation lacks a Social Agenda. We have no direction and no purpose. We try to thrive as individuals and disregard collectivity as a nonpriority. But we are complex in our judgment: We either comfortably sit on a throne of apathy or we want to aid all causes simultaneously and end up performing great amounts of couch activism. Couch Activism that most of the time translates into Caps Locked Twitter rants that have no impact. This instability and aloofness occurs, partly, due to the overexposure to information that we suffer. It overwhelms us. This is also emphasized by the shifting of the internet on to “real time”.  The internet is no longer falsely static and its quick changes mirror real life. The hype that Kony2012 has brought upon the world will be soon overshadowed by another cause.

Next time you have the itch to support a cause, you should channel your efforts and do the following:

1. Go from the inside out: If you are working for a cause that really touches you, it isn’t likely that you will lose interest.
2. Go local: Are there any causes near you that need your attention? Too often we focus on the children that are starving in Africa and forget the ones that are a couple of miles from our home. Not that the children in Africa are less important than our own, but our help can make a quicker and more noticeable impact if we go local. Noticeable impact is essential to encourage us to keep supporting our cause.
3. As a virtually linked International Community, we should strive for the lengthening of the internet’s attention span. We should remind ourselves and others that there are unresolved crises that once flooded our timelines.
4. Stay unbiased: Too often there are causes that oppose other causes. Before joining one or the other, you should research, question and look at both sides. Even after you decide to support a cause, realize that there might be other perspectives.

As trite as it sounds, this is the time to go back to collectivism. We must join, organize and protest. Our communities should be ones we are proud to live in. Our countries should be questioned. They are ours. It is our duty as citizens to not only ask for better politicians, but to deserve them by being first-class citizens. This is not idealism, this is reality. It’s 2012. It’s election year. In our democracies, our collective decision empowers a determined party. Why do we think that democracy is comes only every end-of-term? We make it everyday by helping causes, by reading, by being informed, paying taxes, recycling. I urge us to unite, to question, but most importantly, to make conscious decisions and act.