Choosing our Causes Wisely

This is my civic responsibility/social injustice post...


I have two topics in one. They both have to do with "causes" and money and leaders we elect.

The first is good new [my opinion] on Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget cuts, and an explanation of what I think he can/should/will not do.

The second is the phenomenon sweeping facebook: Kony 2012.

A few weeks ago I posted and irate and persuasive--hopefully--blog post about how California's Governor Jerry Brown was trying to cut Cal Grant in half for private schools. Today I learned that an Assembly sub-committee voted him down. "Drawing the line" at education.

I am elated that bright, low-income students at California's private schools will continue to receive this scholarship-like aid, and not how to drop out of school or flood the over-populated state schools.

However, Brown also tacked on a stipulation for raising the GPA requirements to receive Cal Grant. To be frank, the GPA requirements are not high--at all. Raising them a point or two--and perhaps encouraging school districts to tell their students that!--which would cause students who would struggle in college to have to go to a community college for a semester. Or, it would encourage students to get better grades in high school.

That would, of course, make too much sense, though.

Even though I agree with spending cuts, agree with the GPA requirement lifting, I still disagreed with bill because of the caveat of cutting funds for private schooled students. Many students were in the same position I was. We had to embrace the other side of the political spectrum, just to not lose the ability to go to school.

We had to make choices. Making a choice is going to be one of the themes in my Kony blurb.

My conservative side looked for ways JB could've saved money and found plenty...


A second way Jerry Brown could have saved the state money was not give financial aid to illegal aliens. I will not belabor my point here, and if any of you feel I should, take a moment to think about it.

There's yet another way in the realm of education that Jerry Brown could have cut needless spending. (There's just so many ways! The frugal in me is getting excited!)
Community college students--those who qualify--can get thousands of dollars to live on, pay the paltry tuition fees, et cetera. And many of my former "classmates" took full advantage of that. They didn't go get a job at McDonalds because they received financial aid to live on and buy their pot with--all via the state of California.

For those of you who think students of California community colleges can't manage work and school, I assure you they can. Professors at community colleges are extremely understanding of job vs school schedules--they even expect it. By cutting out extras like pot (a good deal of my classmates came to school high and yes, I'm still disgusted by it) and adding roomates, these students can afford it.

Jerry Brown, of course, took none of these options. So people like me were forced to agree with representatives whose ideaologies are at polar ends with ours to save Cal Grants for private schools.

Now to Kony...

My facebook homepage is flooded with posts from young people about Kony 2012. My first reaction was my theory that, in hard times, current Americans like to forget about their troubles and focus on saving the world. It makes us feel better. It is, a wise person put it, our "Savior" complex.

Within a few hours, the "bi-partisan posts" (there's actually a t-shirt with a donkey and elephant merged into one) became partisan. People were arguing because there friends weren't posting, or were pointing out that posting doesn't do anything, or posting that they were better than others for posting... It's really quite a circus.

There were also a plethora of Our Generation points with noble platitudes that made me chuckle and roll my eyes.

I'm not fan of my generation and don't particularly trust it.

But the most exciting part of this entire "free the world from the modern-day Hitler/save the children/our anger at injustice via social media" rampage we're all on--until Spring Break comes and we all forget--are the voices of reason that point out that Kony Knowledge is not new.

The U.S. government knows about Kony and has tried to stop him. Each time, however, it has failed and he becomes more brutal. "The problem with stopping a man who uses child soldiers are that all of his bodyguards are soldiers. Each strike kills children." Visible Children, tumblr.com
Invisible Children, the company that produced the Kony film isn't known for its reputable business practices, although its mission is a fantastic one. What many of my Kony-posting associates don't realize is that Invisible Children supports military action to rid Kony of his world. They also support another army, who's not particularly a fan of the Geneva Convention standards of war.

Everyone has to make a choice. Just like conservative college students had to rally liberal assembly persons to their cause of saving Cal Grant, Kony 2012 supporters may have to support a cause, or group they don't 100 percent believe in.

I am curious to see what actually happens. It's not like Kony is going to log into facebook and stop being a "bad guy" because everyone has written hate on his wall. Will the Kony 2012 supporters go over and fight Kony themselves? (I doubt it.)

By now all Kony 2012 supporters no doubt believe I'm heartless and want him to continue his malicious doings. Not so. If someone is adamant about supporting Kony 2012, I hope he researches it and decides how he is going to support it. Is he going to send money, is he going to go physically fight Koney, is he going to "kill him with words." All passions have a price.

It is important, however, for people to know the entire story.
So while everyone is excited proclaiming to be the NO. 1 enemy of Kony, and posting red on their wall, I'm going to sit and watch and share what erudite sources are saying.

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

The above url is one of the blog post I cited earlier. It explains Kony, Invisble Children, and politics. I'm not judging anyone for posting Kony, nor am I heartless and want children to be soldiers. I'm just jaded in regards to my generation, our crusades, and personally believe that most young people would rather save another continent, than focus on the problems here at home.

So be involved in in missions, help out other nations, but don't forget to vote in 2012!