until-never: Kony 2012

You may not like what I'm about to suggest here, because very likely you are one of hundreds of thousands millions of good people, over the last few days, who have watched, online, the video gone viral "KONY 2012" -- a 30 minute documentary exposing African warlord, Joseph Kony, and his 20 year reign of terror, against the children of Uganda.

If you've an ounce of humanity, learning about these beyond horrible atrocities would surely bring you to tears. If it did, you may have felt compelled, as suggested, to share the video on your favorite social network -- such as Facebook, Google+ or Twitter -- to then recruit everyone you know to the cause as well.

And dare I say that some of you have already joined KONY 2012 Cover the Night scheduled to take place in cities across the nation and perhaps, just perhaps, you have plunked down good money and ordered those cool bracelets contained in the KONY 2012 Kit.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, I promise you that somebody very close to you does, and has acted on at least one of the above action items. At this point if I gambled, which I don't, I'd be willing to make you a sizable wager to make my point.

The sharing of social media via social networks is a powerful new frontier and, like all new ventures, brings with it an enthusiasm and desire to seize the greatest opportunities, to make the greatest impact. Most of us who have seen this power, on any scale, understand the potential to make things happen. And because many of us believe that technology is literally changing the world, and we're excited to be a part of it -- we are also vulnerable to ideas and causes that advocate doing just that -- changing the world via the Internet.

I'm not one to watch promotional videos, online, so I ignored the barrage of KONY 2012 postings on my various social networks, until I couldn't ignore them any longer. (That's the plan and it works.) Like so many, I was deeply moved, as I often am when I hear of such evils around the world.

I want it to stop! Surely there has to be something we can do! Helplessness is a terrible predicament and leaves us feeling powerless. But not this cause -- they have a BIG PLAN! Hallelujah! Look what we can accomplish, together! Just DO this, and this, and this...

But something in the back of my mind would not allow me to go full steam ahead with this project and cause. Honestly, I felt guilty. I didn't feel good about using my power to perpetuate something that I wasn't feeling. This didn't make sense to me at first. We are talking about children here, and my heart was whispering SCAM! I tried to ignore this mind-conflict by looking past the continued postings... until a Facebook friend posted a link that called into question the validity and legitimacy of KONY 2012. And that's when I decided, enough. I'm going to speak my mind and let the chips fall where they may.

I want this cause to be good, and just, and noble, and kind. Like you, I want to be part of something that is wonderful, and amazing, and could truly affect the lives of countless children. I so want in, but I can't ignore my initial gut feelings to be cautious and move slowly. However, I'm not going to apologize for these feelings, and if this turns out to be as great as purported I will celebrate with the masses!

I believe that the still small voice inside each of us speaks up for a reason. So I listened more intently until I knew what to do. And when I figured it out, I had a V8 moment, (Hopefully some of you will know what I'm talking about;) or rather, an epiphany!

KONY 2012 aside, if you happen to have teenagers in your home, this is such a great opportunity to teach and discuss the issue of Affinity Fraud, particularly in relation to the Internet. Fortunately because I closely follow the LDS Newsroom, I see pretty much everything they post. I recalled that a few weeks ago they posted about Affinity Fraud. I did not, however, read the article. I live in California, and the information about Affinity Fraud was for Utah Mormons. (sorry) Yup. That's what I decided so I could ignore that counsel. So stupid.