Jessica, I’m not providing an answer to your last question as much as I’ll just add more to think about, but I think you should recognize that your question of “even if you have courage, then what?” is a good one because I think this is where Eben want us to be. In my view, he wants us to feel uncomfortable, frustrated, and maybe even guilty about where we are now and where we should be headed.

But, like you, I also wonder what it is to meaningfully contribute to social justice. What does that look like, particularly for folks who are working two jobs, or are working parents, or have sick relatives to take care of at home? The simple reality is that these are serious obstacles for many people in deciding whether to take it to the street. When there are legitimate hardships that prevent us from taking that extra step, I wonder how those of us in that position can still incorporate even just a little piece of John Brown in our lives.

I thought the Kony 2012 Campaign by Invisible Children offered an innovative and accessible channel to do justice. I really identified with the way the movement recognizes that a vast majority of Americans want to make some sort of social impact but just don’t know how or where to start. The campaign also culminates with supporters actually going to the streets, putting up posters and signs about the cause. But then the NYT has this really provocative debate the questions whether it can be really said that supporters are fighting for a cause “without leaving the couch?” Are supporters getting a “false sense of accomplishment” that they are taking real action from putting up posters and wearing “Kony 2012” bracelets? TMS Ruge, a Ugandan social entrepreneur, thinks so and argues that “[t]he world isn’t that simple or easy to fix. The campaign missed a huge opportunity to instill agency in Uganda’s civil society, to encourage citizens to act on their own behalf. That would have been hugely transformative. But instead, Ugandans are left wondering, ‘What is this?’” In response, Lisa Shannon, a social activist, has one basic message: “Awareness can inspire action.” She points out that one of the greatest obstacles for bringing down Kony and other problems in Africa has been the silence. Aren’t supporters taking action by making Kony “famous,” as the campaign calls it? Then again it’s easy to raise your voice against a war criminal when you live in another continent. On balance, I sympathize with Ruge’s position and critics like him because they’ve challenged me to look into the crimes in Uganda that are much more complicated than what the 30 minute video that Invisible Children presented; however, I tend to agree with the “awareness inspires action” view. I wonder if it’s because of my own guilt for not being able to do something more. But for the most part, I agree with Shannon's view because it recognizes that becoming an advocate and activist for social justice sometimes takes a step in the right direction. It can start with putting up a poster or two and seeing where that takes you and what that inspires you do to going forward.

-- LizzieGomez - 18 Mar 2012