Go Beyond

Over the past several days, Joseph Kony’s infamy has spread virally to almost every conceivable corner of the planet, or at least to the places where folks can connect to the internet. Kony is the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a brutal guerrilla group that has been at war with the Ugandan government for more than twenty years. Kony adopted the name Lord’s Resistance Army because of his desire to rule Uganda according to his warped vision of Christianity. However, there is nothing about Kony or his army and how they operate that even remotely resembles the teachings or example of Jesus Christ. The LRA has left a bloody trail of destruction, mutilations, and death throughout Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Kony’s abuse of children is especially heinous. His army has abducted thousands of children over the years, forcing the boys to fight in his army and using the girls as sex slaves. One initiation rite for the boys includes forcing them to murder their own parents and family members.

The name Kony is a bad word throughout Central Africa. Those unfortunate enough to live within the reach of the LRA live in fear of working in their own fields or that their own children will become Kony’s next victims. Today, Kony is fighting only to maintain his power, and he will stop at nothing in order to do so. But, all of that may be about to change thanks to the efforts of the Invisible Children, a California-based advocacy group committed to making the world aware of the plight of the children who have fallen victim to Kony and the LRA. The Invisible Children organization recently produced a video about Kony that has gone viral. The message is simple — Kony is a bad guy who has operated for too long with impunity and must be stopped this year! The video and the Invisible Children website offer practical suggestions for getting involved in this initiative to bring Kony to justice. Only time will tell if this effort helps to lead to the arrest of Kony and other LRA leaders who are wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. I am praying that enough people will put enough pressure on policy-makers that they will, in turn, increase the pressure on Kony and stop him cold in his bloody tracks.

This initiative on the part of the Invisible Children to raise awareness about Kony is not without its critics. No big surprise. They have been accused of oversimplifying a complex issue and have had their motives questioned. Teddy Roosevelt once said, “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…” I agree with Roosevelt. The Invisible Children folks are in the arena. And, as Roosevelt also said about the man in the arena, “at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.” As for me, I am rooting for the Invisible Children and pray that their efforts to shine the light on Kony’s dark deeds will lead to his arrest. It may not happen overnight but I pray that it happens soon. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Kony may think that he is operating with impunity but will one day wake to find that it was only for a season. While the wheels of God’s justice sometimes seem to move slowly, there is no mistake about the fact that when they come they grind finely. I encourage you to visit the Invisible Children website to learn more about their efforts to see Kony brought to justice, take the time to watch their video, and then get involved.