Perhaps it is not surprising that even for a cause as worthy as bringing down a man who kidnaps children, forces them to kill people and perform sex acts against their will, there are still millennials who say, “Let’s pump the brakes.” But, while maybe not surprising, it is certainly worrying.
The recent backlash against Kony 2012 is a prime example of the trend of millennials' being overtaken by an attitude of skepticism that is so utterly foolish.
It may make some people feel good to point out how they are somehow smarter than all the people who let their emotions get hijacked by an online video. “Oh, silly people who post the Kony 2012 video all over Facebook. When will you realize you have to do your research?" But in reality, these people are undermining an incredible cause that has the potential to inject life into our generation.
C.S. Lewis, in The Abolition of Man, warned of the dangers of such an attitude that downgrades an objective good to something that is relative to each person. He summed it up like this: “The operation … is to produce what may be called Men without Chests. It is an outrage that they should be commonly spoken of as Intellectuals ... Their heads are no bigger than the ordinary: it is the atrophy of the chest beneath that makes them seem so …"
G.K. Chesterton put it this way: “But the new rebel is a skeptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it …"
My message to Kony skeptics: Remind yourself that a man who does the things that Joseph Kony does is evil. Remember that it is not just okay, but it is the right thing to do to have an emotional reaction to him and stop him as a result of that reaction. Recognize that by being a contrarian for the sake of being a contrarian, you are in an untenable position because you have no basis by which to judge anything. Lastly, do not use your voice to stop something that the millennial generation needs: a healthy dose of the reality of the world, and a way to make a difference.
Making a difference includes making Kony a household name and thus shaping attitudes in our country towards global human rights issues.
DEBATE: For the other side, see "Kony 2012 Supporters Have Been Duped"
Photo Credit: Big C Harvey
