The Bucknellian

By Jennifer Mok

Writer

Invisible Children, an organization dedicated to stop Joseph Kony and support those affected by the war in East and Central Africa, has caused quite a stir due to its Kony 2012 movement. While many, including myself, were quick to jump into the general sentiment of hope and excitement for change, others were skeptical. Unsure of the reason behind the growing number of hesitant individuals, I decided to step back from the hype and examine the event and organization with a more critical point of view. The results? Not so great.

If you own a Facebook account, you have most likely seen the inspirational film promoting Kony 2012. Whether or not you have actually watched the video floating around on your newsfeed, you probably have at least heard of its existence. Using easy-access tools such as YouTube and Facebook, people have spread this video and its motive with much success. There is no doubt that this 30-minute video has greatly influenced the public sentiment in a short period of time. The film was designed to be informative, tear-jerking, inspiring and easy to digest. Viewers were left informed about the atrocities occurring in Uganda and motivated to make a change. The video created this feeling of great ability: that everyone was able to contribute in one way or another. The film asks viewers to participate in the event by donating and sharing the film with as many people as possible. Many opted to contribute by using their precious time to perform the meaningful push of a “share” button.

I do not wish to undermine neither the efforts nor the intentions of Invisible Children. However, I feel this approach is highly ineffective as it provides people with an easy way out. Simply reposting a video and sharing articles and images on a matter of such great importance is simply not enough. What Invisible Children has started is not an actual, substantial act but rather a virtual illusion of action and a powerful sentiment.

This is the main problem and center of controversy surrounding Invisible Children. The non-profit organization focuses much on raising awareness on the war and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The profits made from their merchandise and donations are used to create films such as “Kony 2012.” But not even 40 percent of their profits are directed toward supplies and support for the people of Uganda. This means that a whopping 60 percent is distributed to employees, offices and filmmaking. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sit right with me.

A movement with the purpose to help others should do much more than just raise awareness. Children are able to raise awareness by simple acts of speech, poster making and fundraisers. Why should I buy a customized kit designed to promote the need to arrest Joseph Kony, yet utilized as profit for a group of individuals who are incapable of handling money in a more well-constructed manner? Also, in sharing of these posters, bracelets, handouts and other products branded by Invisible Children, the focus shifts from the criminal acts of Joseph Kony to the organization.

I even found myself thinking how wonderful, perhaps even heroic, Invisible Children seemed for its forward approaches. This cause and effort should be inspiring others not to join and applaud the group, but to educate one another and create effective ways to not only halt the activities of Joseph Kony, but also help survivors and those suffering because of this injustice.

I partially blame our generation’s craving for hype, creativity, forward thinking and need for cause of unity for the outcomes of this event. We are often so swept up by an emotional fever of heroism that the feeling of ability and empowerment makes us forget the core of the undertaking. We begin to live in this frenzy of elated, high optimism.

Invisible Children has done a fantastic job in raising awareness. Now, to actually make a difference, it is our job to use the knowledge given to us and turn it into action. Raise money and donate to the African Militia, write to the politicians–those for and against American involvement–contact survivors, reach out to affected communities and do something other than point out a problem. You can make a difference, but emphasizing the existence of an issue is not the proper–or effective–way of doing so.

By Sarah Morris

Writer

Over the past few months of writing for The Bucknellian I have realized something very important about humans: they will take anything you say and change it in order to understand it better, even if that makes their understanding inaccurate. I am actually a bit dumbfounded that it isn’t something that I noticed before this year. I guess we all recognize it subconsciously, but to have it thrown in your face is a completely different situation.

The funny thing is, this happens to writers all the time. Most people have probably mistaken a phrase or quote from a famous passage as meaning something completely opposite from the original meaning. This is where we English majors get to have a good laugh at the rest of you. Being an English major allows me the beautiful opportunity of being told that I’ll never get a job, that my major is pointless and that there’s nothing that I can really do with my major. The people who say this are not only wrong, but they are also usually the ones who make these literary faux pas in the first place.

Now I know you’re thinking that there is not really one scenario in which we could actually feel so great about correcting someone about their knowledge in the field of literary excellence (which we love to do, by the way, at every opportunity), but there is one specific instance that always makes me laugh: tattoos. I absolutely love it when I see someone with a very well-known quote etched onto his or her body, with a seemingly important and valuable meaning in mind, and they are completely wrong. My absolute favorite is the quote “This above all: to thine own self be true” from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” The line is a quote from Polonius, a wretched old man who is telling his son not to be original and unique as those with the tattoos might say, but rather is telling his son to always perform in his best interests before those of others. The fact alone that so many people have this tattoo contradicts the very reason they are probably getting it to begin with.

My second favorite quote is from Emerson’s poem “Hamatreya” and the line I speak of is quoted as: “The earth laughs in flowers.” Most people see this and think it would be cute to get this tattooed around their ankle or on their shoulder next to a small flower, but the actual message of the line describes the earth laughing at all of the people who die to create the flowers that come out of the earth. The earth isn’t having some happy-go-lucky time in the open air; the earth is making fun of those who use her and then are used themselves once they die.

I suppose there are two main points to my rant. The first is that you really should look deeper into the ideas that you tattoo your body with permanently so that you do not look like a jerk to everyone who is educated. The second is to read all literature, newspaper articles, magazine clippings and all other writings much more closely. If you want to consider yourself an educated and logical person, you must take into account that a writer might have meant something that you do not realize the first time through.