Kony 2012

About ten years ago I first heard of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. What struck me at the time was how would I, as a parent, feel if my son (then 3) would some day be taken from our home and forced to kill, maime, rape and destroy thousands of lives all for a warlord (Joseph Kony) who was doing it for no other reason than to retain his own power?

Over the years, I've heard bits and pieces of information about this evil man and his reign of terror but because I live in white, middle-class suburban United States could largely put it out of my mind. But every now and then, when my children were being selfish or thought their lives were awful because I wouldn't let them have the latest electronics item or spend countless hours playing on media or I'd asked them to do more than they deemed to be the "fair" amount of work, I have tried to put their "plight" in perspective by asking them to consider their troubles in light of millions of children around the world...including the child soldiers of the LRA.

Now, one of my children has brought to my attention a grass-roots campaign whose aim is for 2012 to be the year that Joseph Kony is arrested and brought to justice. Did you even know that he is number 1 on the International Criminal Court's most wanted list? He was the first person to be indicted by the International Criminal Court because his heinous crimes surpassed those of any other person...including Osama Bin Laden or Muammar Gaddafi. Because Kony's crimes are not seen as a security or economic threat to the U.S. though, nothing has been done to stop him...until now.

Take 30 minutes to watch this video please, then actually do something about it: write your congressmen, go on the website and contact the 20/12 leaders that this movement is targeting, get the word out on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, your church...everywhere. There is no reason this can't end...and soon. We no longer live in a world where we can say that what happens in Africa doesn't affect us.

Actually, stop and allow yourself to process that thought. I've said this many times on this blog and in many ways but there is one perspective I have not yet thrown out here for your consideration because I didn't want to sound too cynical. But whether it's famine relief or a warlord's 26-year reign of terror, what if within the next 3-5 years our nation would experience total economic collapse and the roles were reversed? What if someone akin to a Joseph Kony arose out of the ashes and began his evil power-hungry warmongering in your own backyard? Would we want the nations in Europe, Africa and Asia to see it as "our problem" and that it doesn't affect their "national security" or a possibility of "financial instability" to their homeland? Our country is not sitting on a pile of oil either...who would come to our aid merely out of the goodness of their hearts?

There's a lot of buzz going around on Facebook about Kirk Cameron's new movie too, called Monumental. Honestly, I don't know a lot about it other than it's something to do with how the U.S. has lost it's Christian roots and we need to get back to them. I agree. But I also recognize that the U.S. is a kingdom of this world and it is not my eternal home. Just stop and consider for a moment, what would be the most effective use of your Christian time and energy...rallying around a movie that tells Christians in the U.S. how we need to get back to our Christian heritage...or living out our Christian faith and values by contributing toward the relief of famine and war in Africa that will actually pass on that Christian heritage and values to the next generation that is closely examining us?

Hmmm??? Good question!

For more information, go to Kony2012.com