The Good Ol' Days

“Can it be that it was all so simple then?” –Barbara Streisand

I like the olden days. Not like the olden days of my own lifetime, but the really olden days. I love the different eras. Lately I’ve been watching a lot of Mad Men, a tv-show that takes place in the early 60s, and I love it. I love the clothes, the cars, the music. The way thing seemed simpler, although if Mad Men is anything to go by it wasn’t simple. I like older music, must to the dismay of my father who can’t stand it, the classics like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby…  

It’s funny to think that someday these will be the good old days, that people will look back on with fondness thinking that it was all so simple. Heck, it’s crazy to think that the 20s was almost a hundred years ago already, soon it’ll be the 20s again. People tend to look back on the past with a fondness. I certainly do. Even things that I didn’t enjoy at the time always seem so much more pleasant when I think back. I suppose that’s the way it goes.

As much as I love watching movies from earlier times and listening to their music and dreaming of wearing their clothes, I am happy to live now.

A few days ago I went to a lecture about marriage and how much it has improved in past decades and how lucky we are to live now when we get to choose whom we want to marry and we don’t have to stick to the housewife role. And I’m certain marriage is not the only thing that has improved; we know so much more about health and medicine, about equality (though there is still more to be done), we have computers, and even though they can be a pain in the butt I’ve got to say they are pretty helpful.

Yes, I suppose I will lovingly look back on this time someday, but for now I’ll just enjoy each day as it comes.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time” -Ecclesiastes 3:11

Kony...

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple days you have probably heard at least something about KONY 2012. This is Invisible Children’s latest campaign against Joseph Kony who has been a warlord in Africa for quite some time now. Rather than telling you all about this campaign, I encourage you to go to their website (www.kony2012.com) and watch the video and read about what their plan of action is for yourself.

This video is very impactful and it’s easy to see why it has been spreading like wildfire over various social media outlets. I myself immediately jumped on the bandwagon (even ordered a t-shirt) following one of the campaigns slogans: “one thing we can all agree on”. But can we?

This morning I woke up and went online and found that already several articles and blogs have begun to surface encouraging people to further research what it is exactly that Invisible Children hopes to do to stop Kony, before blindly following the video that has been posted. There is no question that Kony is a bad man and needs to be stopped and that people, certainly children, deserve to live in freedom; the question is whether this is the way to achieve that.

Most of these articles highlight how Invisible Children uses their funds, the way in which they support a military that has done questionable things itself, the naivety of thinking that putting up posters will make a huge difference, and the idea of the black man needing to be saved by the white man that is being portrayed.  (I have posted links to a couple of these articles at the bottom)

Now, I am not saying that I fully agree with these articles, and I am certainly not opposed to the idea of KONY 2012, but I do think it is important for people to take into consideration what they are actually supporting.

Here is what I know: I know that Joseph Kony is without a doubt a bad man and that he should to be captured. I believe that it is important to raise awareness of this issue and that we should find a way to help. I also know that no organization is perfect and they all have their flaws, Invisible Children is not exempt from that. But I also know that getting the US military involved might not be the best option. What the best option is, I unfortunately don’t know.

So for now I will spread awareness about Joseph Kony in the hopes that he is arrested for the terrible things he has done, and I will admire the world pulling together for a cause that we can all believe in. But I will also look into things myself and research the cause, rather than blindly following a 30-minute video without questioning it. I encourage you to do the same.

A couple articles opposed to KONY 2012:

-http://justiceinconflict.org/2012/03/07/taking-kony-2012-down-a-notch/

-http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble

Whistle Blower.

So that was a bit of an unexpected hiatus… sorry about that. I honestly did not mean to simply leave you hanging like that. Truth be told, I have been pretty busy with school work and what not, but the real reason I haven’t written in a while is that I haven’t really thought of much that I felt was worth your time. But after it was brought to my attention by an avid reader (my mom) that I hadn’t written in a while I figured I might as well find something to tide you over for a bit longer.

Falling Whistles.

You may have seen my facebook status about them a while ago, but I figure this is worthy of more than just a status. Falling Whistles is a small non-profit movement that partners with local leaders in the Congo to advocate and rehabilitate for those affected by war. Many people are unaware that Congo has been at war for many many years, and that to this day nearly 1500 people lose their lives daily. Falling Whistles began as a blog that told the story of the young boy soldiers who are sent out to take part in this war armed with no more than a whistle. The readers of this blog began to wonder what they could do to help and the answer was simple: speak out, be a whistle blower for peace.

Falling Whistles now sells a selection of whistles, posters, and (soon) t-shirts. All the profit from these sales goes directly to the women and children affected by this war, and not only that but these whistles are a great way to spread awareness.

I purchased my falling whistle (Hamptons Brass) a couple weeks ago, and as soon as I came back to my dorm with my package the girls were asking about it and one of them even said she wanted to buy one as well. Now, I realize that these whistles are not particularly cheap, the prices range from $34 - $104 for the basic whistles, and some celebrities have even been spotted dawning the whistles in the $148 - $498 range, but I encourage those of you who want to take part in this movement to at least check them out. Even if you don’t buy a whistle, the posters are only $15 and really cool.

Now I hope this isn’t coming across as a sales pitch, I’m not trying to pressure you into this at all. But I just want to encourage you that this is a simple and fun way to give to a charity. And if the war in the Congo isn’t your thing, that’s fine, there are lots of different organizations that are supporting a good cause and need financial help. I’m not totally delusional and I realize that the economy is not so hot right now, I’m a student, trust me, I know. But the Bible does call us to give, so I encourage you to do so in whatever way you can.

That’s it from me, and I promise I’ll update again soon!

(http://www.fallingwhistles.com/)