Invisible children: social visibility and vulnerability

Invisible Children

Peter Singer and the Invisible Children

Rationalization becomes easy for most people as they grow into adulthood; the simplicity of sharing in childhood -- though still sometimes resisted -- gives way to the hems and haws of security, necessity, and more complex notions of "fairness" such as independent responsibility. The innocent suggestion that an unwanted portion of food be mailed to the starving children in some foreign land that is a common feature of many childhood experiences is more profound than might at first be appreciated -- it indicates a complete willingness to engage in practical behaviors towards addressing an identified problem. Children have an innate sense of fairness, as well, even if it is not always lived up to -- they know it is inherently wrong for Susie to have a bigger piece of cake than Billy, or for Tommy to cut in front of Polly in line for the slide. As adults, however, these things are called "capitalism," "progress," and "free markets," and the picture of fairness becomes clouded.

When a philosopher and social commentator like Peter Singer lays these moral issues out in black and white, however, it becomes all but impossible to continue supporting such rationalizations. If bad things are happening that could easily be stopped by a minimal sacrifice on our parts, Singer insists, then we have a moral duty to stop the bad things. Yet as easy as it is to agree with this statement and the moral philosophy it represents, people generally seem reluctant to act upon it even in childhood and especially once they've reached the age of reason and rationalization that is adulthood. Self-importance takes over form true moral worth, and this is all too clearly reflected in the choices people make.

Invisible Children is a documentary that focuses on the children of Uganda, many of whom are kidnapped every year by a rebel army that brainwashes them and turns them into soldiers, where one of their constant activities is the kidnapping of more children to become troops, replacing the other small hands with guns that have been killed in fighting or by their rebel leaders for disobedience, real or imagined. This situation has been self-perpetuating for decades, and all because the leader of the rebel army has not been stopped. There is no longer any real revolution going on, by all appearances, but merely a ragtag group of armed and half-crazed men forcing a large group of children to do their violent bidding, and a government that is at once largely powerless to stop it and at the same time not overly concerned. There are definitely resources available in the world that could bring an end to the situation in Uganda, however -- through direct military might, if necessary, and through increased aid to the largely peaceful people and communities of Uganda in order to eradicate any support for the rebels to begin with. Better schools and better general infrastructure -- access to water, nutrition, and healthcare -- would eliminate the perceived need to overthrow the government, which at this point is little more than a simple excuse for the rebel army to pillage and act as it wishes with a sense of self-righteousness.