The Invisible Story Behind Invisible Children

If you've found yourself caught up in confusion about the recent "Kony 2012" video released by the Invisible Children group, you're not alone.  The video is a plea to the public of the United States, asking them to petition the U.S. government to team up with the Ugandan government to catch warlord Joseph Kony.  Upon online release of this video, many response videos were recorded and shared, claiming that Invisible Children's video is incorrect, that Americans have no place to "set things right" for Ugandans and that there may be secret motives for the U.S. government to back this video as propaganda.

As Americans, do we have a responsibility to catching all of the "bad guys" out there?  If we ignore it, are we allowing more children to be abducted, raped, beaten and trained to kill?

As a follower of Jesus, can one justify a military presence in Uganda?  Are army "advisers" there to help infiltrate peacefully and capture Kony, or are they joining the Ugandan army in using force to do so?

Like many folks who've been brought to attention by this media controversy, I, too, am looking for the truth in the matter.  What's the best way to discover what actually happens in a country half-way across the globe?

Eyewitnesses.

We can trust those who've been there and experienced the turmoil in Uganda to tell the truth and get down to the bottom of this matter, bringing possible peaceful solutions to the table.

A good friend of mine has been there.  Phil spent a semester abroad in Uganda, and fell in love with Suzan.  He had to return to Pennsylvania after the semester ended, but he returned for another three months to marry her and spend time with her family and community.  Suzan has recently joined him here, in the U.S., and they're working together to file for dual citizenship for the both of them.

In short, Phil wrote a great article from his and her perspective on the "Kony 2012" video, and I think you should read it.  It brought me some great clarification on the true situation, and it may do the same for you.

The Invisible Story Behind Invisible Children - Phil Wilmot

Blue Like Jazz

I read Blue Like Jazz years ago and loved it.  A few years ago, I heard news of the pre-production for a Blue Like Jazz film - which was difficult to imagine, since the book is such a lovely, meandering collection of essays on spirituality and conversations and experiences.  Now that I've seen the trailer, I'm so excited to watch the story come to life on the big screen.

March

It's Spring!  It's felt like Spring since mid-February.  The trees began budding a week before the Vernal Equinox, and now the smell of cherry blossoms is flooding the streets of Kutztown.  Glorious!!

Smokey

Smokey:  a great companion, friendly, playful, lazy and cuddly.

As soon as our plane hit the ground, the phone rang.

We had just landed - still donned in t-shirts, shorts, tanned skin - at the Philadelphia airport.  We were home from our Dominican honeymoon.

The call informed us that the family cat had died.  We waited for our luggage, hopped a tram to the hotel where our car was parked, held in tears until we merged onto I-95 to get back to West Chester.

When we arrived, little, black Midnight mewed, alarmed, at us.  She could not understand why Smokey wasn't moving.  His little body was still curled into his cat-bed.  He lay face-down.

Sitting on the sofa, we held Midnight for as long as she'd let us, feeling the need to console her.

The whole timber-framed house creaked and groaned constantly, all night long.  One might blame it on the arriving cold front and falling snow.... but, perhaps, the house was exhaling a breath, a soul that night.

The following morning, three brothers dug a hole beneath the snow.

Photo by Mark

On travel

Although my heart desires travelling into the unknown, I haven't been to very many different places.  Spring break trips with a college ministry group took me and friends to Florida, West Virginia and Texas.  Dallas, Texas, I would say, is the most "different" place (from homestate PA) I've seen.  Excursions to Maine have been a part of almost every summer in my teen to adult life.

This year, I'm looking forward to seeing the Dominican Republic, possibly San Antonio, and Maine, once again.  I'd love to add in more adventures, though; to see more of this country than I've considered.  I feel a call to the West:  California, Washington, Colorado, Oregon...  I'd love to make it to those places someday soon!  To see canyons, deserts, redwood forests and the Pacific ocean would add so much to my personal experience of the world.

A recent aquisition of mine:  a Passport.  Never had owned one before.  It's a ticket to anywhere in the world, so long as it's backed by funding for a plane ticket.  How does one travel internationally on a small budget?

Perhaps I can finally expand my travels to, finally, the Great White North.  :o)

Weddings comprised most of the excitement of 2011.  My own eleven-month engagement took prime focus for most of the year, in addition to serving as a bridesmaid (or rather, matron?) for dear friend Bridget in November and enjoying Adam & Kate's wedding on 12/30/2011.  2012 will bring high school friend Lauren's wedding in March, Monica's Hawaiian elopement in May and Jake's wedding in June (with Greg serving as Best Man), as well as plans for my sister Sarah's wedding to take place on 4/13/2013.

Is this the time of life during which a lot of folks wed, naturally?  Mid-twenties seems to be all the rage for matrimony, nowadays.  However, our parents' generation may have exchanged their vows from age 19 to 30.  Do young people nowadays just consider 24-27 to be the best time to settle down with someone? 



In the news

Truthfully, I can say that I'm "out of the loop."  Folks around me discuss the latest episode of this-or-that prime time program, the best new video games, news stories, the "Occupy" movement, final scores... and my continually repeating response is, "what's that?"

My husband and I do not own a television.  This is partly because of the decision we made upon hearing that it's beneficial to avoid mindless entertainment during the first year of marriage (when you can talk to each other instead), and partly because neither of us owned the television at our prior residences.  Cable is one bill for which we don't pay, and I like that it fits into the ideal of "cheap living."  We also don't subscribe to the internet at home... and we don't have those intellectual mobile phones everyone loves.

Additionally, we haven't subscribed to any newspapers... yet.  We may look into receiving the Sunday Inquirer, since there's no local news here worth reading.

We are living in ignorance... but is it bliss?  I don't toss and turn at night, reviewing national economic problems in my mind.  There is less to worry about, a freedom from concerns about others' situations... but are we missing out, not knowing what's happening in the world at large?  Are we avoiding hearing about conflicts to which we could possibly lend a hand?

Should we re-connect?