so obviously there’s a ton of conflicting views about kony 2012, invisible children inc., and the situation in uganda in general. I’ve seen people completely in favor of invisible  children, people adamantly opposed to it, people who think the U.S. shouldn’t be getting involved at all…whatever. honestly, this is such a convoluted issue, and I’ve been hit with so much information in the past 24 hours, that I’m finding it really hard to take a definitive stance on anything. I’ve seen very valid arguments for all of these positions (and more) and the further you venture into the politics and roots of what’s actually going on in central africa, the muddier it gets.

I feel pretty confident about one thing, though: the exposure is certainly a positive thing. that video, though manipulative in nature and heavily biased (just like almost anything you’re going to read about this), did an excellent job of making people care. its number one flaw, of course, is that people are going to blindly adhere to the program without really considering any other perspectives, but going beyond that, it’s a brilliant launching point for people to actually start thinking about and discussing our foreign policy and what we should be doing to reach out to populations in need. and really, I guess there’s only one opinion on all of this I find truly disgusting - apathy.

I can’t expect everyone to stay constantly informed of current affairs. I mean, most of the time we go about our lives only vaguely aware of the decisions our government is making, and that’s pretty normal, because we have to pay attention to our lives. I can’t be mad at people for going about business as usual, or focusing on other things. that’s ridiculous. not everybody feels confident in themselves or their views. it’s the people who feel the need to speak up and say things like “everybody needs to shut up about kony 2012, I’m so sick of seeing it on my news feed/dash”, “oh, suddenly you’re all experts on ugandan politics?”, and “what’s going on? I don’t have time to waste watching a 30 minute video. too long” that I have an issue with.

discussion/debate is an incredibly important thing. it forces us to look beyond our narrow viewpoints and learn how to coexist with those who have differing ones. it forces us to evaluate our own values and priorities. hell, it pretty much just makes us better people on the whole!! telling everyone to stop talking about it is the equivalent of shoving your fingers in your ears and drowning someone out. it’s the definition of ignorance. just because politics and moral issues are controversial doesn’t mean they have to wreck relationships. it is completely possible to have a healthy debate with someone about anything; you just have to learn how to not be an arrogant asshat and accept opposing views.

but the people who have the audacity to complain about how they’re sick of seeing this, or how ‘everyone’s just doing this to be trendy’…that’s inexcusable. your negativity is totally out of place here, it reflects badly on our generation, and it sure as hell doesn’t make you edgy.

1. pazcual likes this
2. giovannigiorgio reblogged this from justacleverruse and added:

   “discussion/debate is an incredibly important thing. it forces us to look beyond our narrow viewpoints and learn how to...

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12. mometa reblogged this from justacleverruse and added:

    good perspective alert!

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14. mometa said: ugh i just love your opinions and how you word them! definitely agree with this. i pass along things without extensive research and then correct myself when it wasn’t thought out, and that’s better than simply skipping over everything
15. amanga said: i wish this wasn’t long so it would just spread everywhere but yes thank you for this opinion
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20. aspacefuneral reblogged this from justacleverruse and added:

    this is really good commentary

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22. justacleverruse posted this