Social Justice

There are lots of issues on the nightly news that can grab your attention: the economic crisis, bailouts, rising unemployment, and the list goes on. What doesn't seem to get equal air time are issues concerning worldwide Social Justice. Our tastes are far too immediate and shallow it seems. Why is that? Could it be that we Americans have distanced ourselves from pain, from suffering, so that we can pretend the reality of our commercials is all there is?

I realize these are tough accusations. I also know that we need to be made aware of the lives of others; One person really can make a difference. Many of us watched our televisions numbly while accounts of hurricane and flood victims were flashed on the screen. Bono and others have been championing the concerns of the millions in Africa who have been impacted by Aids. There are thousands of children abducted in Southeast Asia who are then forced into prostitution in Thailand. There are countless children in Sri Lanka who have been forced to become soldiers in a 25 year civil war that is currently escalating.
You may have heard of Joseph Kony and the LRA in Uganda. The organization Invisible Children began in 2005 to bring awareness to the world of the Child Soldiers in Uganda, forced through torture and manipulation by Kony and the LRA to become torturers themselves.

What are we to do with all this tragedy? Weep with those who weep first of all. Another response is your voice matters. Clearly, the recent election in the US demonstrates that getting out and expressing one's opinion through the polls does make a difference. The call to service by our new President has been made. I want to suggest a way you can serve those in another part of the world that looks to America as their source of hope.

On April 25 there will be an event to bring attention to the ongoing abduction and torture of children in northern Uganda. To check out more about the event called The Rescue, go to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php

I think about these issues around the world daily. Knowing that there are children who are hurting and hungry and homeless and orphaned breaks my heart. What breaks your heart? What's something you are going to do about it? Let me know....