Kony and Psychopharmaceuticals

Today in class we had a discussion about the implications of the "Kony 2012" video, and what types of action it should necessitate.

We spent a long while talking about the appeal to the media god (I call it that because it seems as though we have become disciples of our own talking boxes) present within the video, the streamlined and sexy way that it was portrayed.

But as we abruptly finished our discussion on the topic, I was left wondering what exactly caught our attention about the video other than its aesthetic appeal.

In order to understand the phenomena of this appeal, it is important to view our motivations themselves as plots, such as Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick, or Jack Gladney's obsession with death from which he proclaims that "all plots tend to move deathward", which I take to mean as that they eventually end, sometimes in the death of the protagonist.

As the consumerist society we are, we have an obsession with satisfaction. This is evident in the rise of the psychopharmaceutical industry (the moment we feel sad we tend to gravitate towards ending it, instead of accepting the rich emotional experience that it allows), the centralization of sources of nutrition in gigantic superstores (it is too much to walk across two isles to get milk and a couch for your living room, nonetheless the village green), and in many other areas.

I believe that the most reflective of this urgent need for satisfaction is the response to the Kony video - people justify their indifference/ignorance to the true moral implications of a horrid scenario by writing it off in the form of a check, and I believe that this form of providing the necessary means, without any effort, is at the center of the American value system.

I truly wonder whether or not we could actually inspire some kind of change through any other action - it intrigues me that not more people are flying over to Uganda in order to try and create change - I wonder what kind of society this necessitates.