Yesterday I posted “Stop Joseph Kony” in haste. Several friends asked me to say something. But I didn’t give the post the level of attention and due dilligence I should have. Today I’m making an attempt to correct my mistake.

“If the world knows who Joseph Kony is, it will unite to stop him.” It’s a compelling statement. This is part of the #KONY2012 campaign that has gone viral on Twitter and Facebook.  There’s a lot of truth to that statement. It’s amazing to me that it is taking the world community so long to take action against this man. But the story in Uganda is bigger than this Joseph Kony. And I’m certainly NOT the right person to help anyone fully understand the historical and political issues that make the conflict larger than the KONY 2012 video explains. I’m not Ugandan.

I’ve had links to Invisible Children on this blog for as long as I’ve been writing here. I’ve written about the plight child soldiers before. The first time five years ago in 2007. As always, it’s important to understand what our support is fueling, and how, and what our awareness accomplishes. I’m writing here again because I’m concerned with the lack of understanding about what might really be happening in Uganda right now, and where the money being raised by Invisible Children is being spent. Viral can be good, but not if it causes us to act without doing research.

Look at all sides of an issue. Here is a critical look at Invisible Children and the KONY 12 campaign. Doing nothing is not an option, certainly. But we need to make choices with as much information as we can get our hands on.

Here is more perspective, some from people on the ground in Uganda. I’ll be adding more links to this post as I find them. Read these, read what is available at Invisible Children, then decide for yourself how you will act.

• “awareness for the sake of awareness isn’t enough“
• “I would like to inform you that stopping Kony would not end the conflict.“
• “This war was bigger than Joseph Kony and those who will end it won’t be Americans.“
• “let’s figure out how to turn this momentum into a constructive opportunity“
• “How The Most Viral Video In The History Of Social Change Gave Uganda A Voice“
• “northern Ugandans know that it will take more than military might“
• “KONY2012 Prompts Outrage in Uganda“