Kony and this insufferable campaign

Recently, a man named Kony has become internationally famous. Due to a new documentary, his presence in Africa and his horrific crimes have become known to the western man, and as such groups of teenagers are going to pressure the government into aiding the capture of this man. That in itself, can be no bad thing.

However, perhaps Kony, despite his terrible crimes and disgusting way of life, is the wrong target. Perhaps he is just an easy scapegoat for a bunch of westerners to feel self righteous about, and ignore the blatant misery they cause every day when they buy goods made in sweat shops, or pollute the earth using their cars. Or perhaps Kony has a nice ring to it, unlike Ahmadinejad.

The point is, that poverty is a bigger killer, and as such a bigger problem. This is just a self evident truth: most people on earth are not effected by Kony, whereas most of the world has citizens living in dire sanitation, with barely any food or water and no opportunities in life. Indeed, these factors are probably the cause of why a man named Kony ever rose to power. If people got so worked up about poverty as they do about Kony, then maybe the greatest problem of all may be solved. But if we head just for Kony, there will always be more warlords to take his place.

This is why I call upon you all to raise awareness of poverty, not Kony. Poverty is the biggest killer in the world, coupled with disease, and we owe our fellow humans the dignity to live in reasonable standards. I don't intend to offer solutions here, but I do think that without awareness, poverty will be still something locked in a dark room, while one warlord in the Congo is the worst thing ever. So do not be gullible, emotionally drawn in or persuaded that this Kony campaign is the right course of action. Start your own campaign against poverty.