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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Kony 2012 - After those moments of reflecting on your own gratefulness for the life you've been given.


The whole eruption of the Kony 2012 campaign has put a lot of people into a place of deep reflection on their own lives; how am I fortunate in ways I never consider, am I doing enough to give back, and how can I enrich my life by contributing to organizations like these? What upset me most about the campaign is that a huge aspect of it is that nobody, or at least very few people, know about this. The aspect of this whole reflection that came after those initial questions, for me, was that here is another organization putting forth a cause that is incredibly worthy of attention and support. Here are people suffering in ways that most of the world is oblivious too, and they deserve our aid and support. How do I know where to focus my energy and resources and fight, when there are so many important "fights" that I already am aware of let alone the ones that I have clearly lived a good part of my life being unaware of. As of right now I give most of the time and donations a college student can give to organizations that support LGBT equality, environmental and wildlife foundations, and, if I can spare it, support foundations for teen suicide and self harm like To Write Love on Her Arms. Now that already ignores my devotion to women's rights, the battle against rape and sexual assault victims, the right to health care for all within the United States, those in Japan who are still homeless from the tsunami, poverty, racial issues, and religious oppression. This post is not to in any way lessen the importance of the issue that Kony2012 sheds light on; it is an incredibly important issue that has my support and action to both educate and contribute to the resources necessary to combat it. This post is meant to express the overwhelming helplessness I feel in knowing that I, and others, have lived so long without knowing the suffering of these people and acknowledging that, given that fact, there are probably countless other battles to be fought that we don't know about, too; furthermore, it's to express the helplessness I feel even in having three or four serious causes I would like to give to and can't.

Ultimately you can't make an argument for whose plight is worse, who needs your help more, or who needs more resources; you just can't. Is it children who worry about being abducted and forced to kill their parents; is it the partner of a 15 years of a soldier who risked her life for me, and you, and everybody else in this country, who is in a hospital bed alone because her girlfriend isn't legally allowed to see her in states like New Jersey; is it the red pandas being illegally hunted and ruthlessly skinned alive, all for their fur, that don't even have a voice? As I said, everybody can have their priorities, but nobody can deem one inequality worse or moe important than another.

The only conclusion I can come to is to set my feet in to causes that I attach my life to; these are the ones that consume my life because I am an LGBT feminist woman who is simultaneously passionate about the psychology of severely troubled young adults and animals. In addition, when a new cause such as a natural disaster tragedy or as it did tonight with Kony2012, I will do what I think is the right thing and contribute what I can but not sideline the causes to which I dedicate my life. I am coming to the... yes, helpless... conclusion that I can't give my heart to every cause, but I can contribute and say I made a difference without abandoning those organizations that have always had my unwavering support, unconditional dedication, and heart. I can't save the world, but we can.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for putting this so eloquently. I believe that so many of us who truly care can easily become so overwhelmed by the number of injustices that are out there. Priorities are important.

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