The Truth about Kony

Three weeks ago the Invisible Children foundation uploaded a video called Stop Kony 2012, which was aimed to gain support of ending the terror Joseph Kony has brought to East Africa. While I found the idea of the “Kony 2012” movement inspiring, I was shocked at how little people knew about what was actually going on in Uganda. After doing my own research on Joseph Kony I came to learn three major things- Joseph Kony has been at this for years, he is no longer actually in Uganda and the Invisible Children are supporting the Ugandan military which is just as bad as Kony.

Joseph Kony became the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in 1986 reports the United Kingdom’s The Independent. Kony was kidnapping children and forcing them to be sex slaves and soldiers as a part of his movement. The Independent reported in 2008 that Kony had started to spread his movement into the Congo and was creating the same terror there that he had in Uganda. So my question is, why are we so concerned about Joseph Kony’s actions 26 years after he started terrorizing the people of Uganda? If The Independent is correct, his movement to the Congo was still 22 years after he started his tirade. Shouldn't we have tried to stop him 15 or 20 years ago?

All of the attention that Joseph Kony has been getting the last few weeks makes it seem as if he is in Uganda right now. In its original statement on its website, the Invisible Children foundation stated that Kony was still in Uganda. The Invisible Children foundation recently released a statement correcting this, acknowledging that Kony had left Uganda in 2006 and was currently in hiding in The Congo. Again, I believe that this man should be stopped and that it is important for him to be captured and tried for his crimes, however, why is his capture and arrest so important now, six years after he left Uganda and four years after he went into hiding? The United States military has had over 200,000 troops in Uganda looking for Kony and have come up with nothing. The Ugandan Army has also been in search of Kony and has also come up with nothing.

The Invisible Children foundation has advocated in their video and their website that we support the Ugandan Army in their search for Kony and that they are the best group to run Uganda. After an outcry from many who know of the atrocities committed by the Ugandan Army, the Invisible Children foundation released a statement saying they do not condone the human rights violations committed by the Ugandan Army, yet they still support them. In 2005, The Human Rights Watch reported that the Ugandan Army was continuing to “kill, rape and uproot civilians”. How is this group any better than Jospeh Kony and the LRA? Why should they have a free pass while we hunt down Kony?

I do not understand why after 26 years of reigning terror on the people of Uganda and the Congo, we suddenly need to take a stand. Kony has been doing this for years, is no longer in Uganda and the Ugandan Army has gained support from the Invisible Children foundation even though they have committed crimes as bad or worse as Kony has. The demand for Kony’s arrest should have been done years ago, so I find the current “movement” rather out of date.

Oral Presentations in The Business World

Oral presentations are common in the business world. Many people find them daunting or intimidating, which is why they are so dreaded by so many people. There are several ways that I have found that can help oral presentations seem less intimidating and more interesting: writing down notes on notecards, taking the time to practice what you are going to say, and having visual aids to use.

            I have been speaking in front of large groups of people from a young age. I spoke in front my local county school board on several occasions on order to improve things in my school district. I learned early that using notecards with general ideas on them was better than writing down an entire speech so I could focus more on interacting with my audience and get the results I wanted. It is better to engage your audience and have them pay attention to what you are talking about than saying every word verbatim.

            When doing oral presentations in a business setting, it is important to practice what you are going to say. It is important to have in your head what you are going to say so that when it comes time to present, you don’t appear to be unprepared. It is important to appear as prepared as you possibly can. I have found that practicing in front of several friends or family members makes it easier to be prepared.

            Visual aids add to any presentation. They make any presentation appear more professional and help when presenting. Visual aids allow for the audience to become more engaged in the presentation and create a more open environment for the presentation.

            Oral presentations can be scary for anyone but they are apart of the business world. The truly best thing to do is to spend time to calm yourself down before the presentation and do your best. However, I have found that by using notecards, practicing the presentation and using visual aids any presentation will go much more smoothly.