Hannah Hecht's Blog

When I first read the New York Times article by Roger Cohen, I was automatically reminded of the many internet memes that have cropped up over the past month, poking fun at the Stop Kony platform and ideals. I don’t claim to know everything, or even much, about the issue, but articles and memes like this drive me crazy. The Cohen article is sarcastic, challenges the idea that people can make a difference, and bluntly states that the Stop Kony model is ridiculous. Cohen, instead of offering an alternative solution, or even stating what is wrong with Invisible Children’s plan, just makes fun of the use of social media to promote a cause.

It’s completely infuriating. Nowadays, there’s no shortage of naysayers. In the United States, there’s one prevailing opinion, no matter what the issue: “The issue is too complicated,” people will say, “It’s too big to tackle. The world’s problems are too complex, too intertwined in other issues, for us to do anything about them.” And this is an incredibly easy stance to take. In order to bring down an idea, all it takes is one person exploiting one minor complication. What’s much more difficult is actually finding a solvable problem and then solving it.

And that’s where Stop Kony ought to win. Jason Russell is a man with a plan, which seems to get increasingly rarer in our world. And it’s simple. Just take an idea and spread it. Once the issue is unveiled, it can’t be ignored. If the Stop Kony platform continues to spread, it will become unstoppable and Kony will eventually be brought to justice.

As Russell said, it’s a new era. Technology is a tool, and Invisible Children has found a new use for it. Through technology comes a whole new type of politics, a type where the people can have a voice. If Stop Kony succeeds, it can mean a whole new chapter in Western politics where the people really have a say. And if other issues can follow the Stop Kony model, together we can solve more problems than we ever thought possible.