Making a Real Difference

#WorldPeace2012

Now war's gonna stop, right?

We all know the answer to that question.

The last few months I've been annoyingly obsessed with politics. We rabidly watch the GOP Debates on TV and keep a daily eye on the latest polls and caucus results. Since I'm getting so well read, I feel pretty proud to actually care about this, and I can say I didn't just show up at the polls in November and vote for Romney because he's Mormon. That's what this post is about. We as Americans do not care about the issues anymore.

I got up this morning to check Facebook and my news feed had blown up over a movement called "Stop Kony". I did my homework and the gist of it is Joseph Kony is a Ugandan leader who is imposing his theocratic government upon his people, including strict obedience to the 10 commandments and using children as soldiers. This is wrong. This movement is to get this man "famous", meaning they want everyone to know who he is so he can be shut down.

This is a great cause and I thought I'd donate so I went to the website. Out of the 100,000+ people who went to the website....17,000 donated? That's it?? Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to Stop Kony, you can't just post a video and move on with your lives. Do you think that those kids care how viral their video gets? They have to go out and fight wars still regardless of how many "likes" they get.

I took a bad approach to this at first by attacking the people who just posted, so I'm trying a different approach. Guys, if you really care about this movement, you've gotta do more. You have to get up and donate, volunteer, write a letter, pledge your support. There are so many things you can do to help this cause and yet you're satisfied with sharing a video. That's not enough.

That's besides the point.

Most of the people who read this blog are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. One of the largest non-profit organizations in the world. The LDS church donates millions of dollars toward relief efforts. Utah has enormous welfare opportunities and service centers where they can donate food and care packages to people around the world. Yet, many of these people who want to stop Kony have never done that, which is sad. Americans are blessed with one of the most prosperous nations in the world, and yet no one is willing to give back and pay it forward. How hard is it to spend an afternoon at Deseret Industries making mittens for children? How hard is it to go pull weeds at an elderly woman's house? These are things you can do to help people in need, and yet we'd rather share a video on Facebook.

When I go on my mission, not only do I get to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I also get to serve people for 2 years. It's a way that I can make a difference and give back. There's a demographic of less wealthy people just trying to get by in McAllen, and I have the opportunity to spend 2 years helping them out. That's making a real difference.

My challenge today is to go make a difference, give back to the community that has given so much to you. Actions speak much louder than words.

AMS