Article 14

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(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) this right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. 

I grew up in the ’80s, and if there is one thing you knew growing up in the ’80s in the good old United States of America, it is that we are the place everyone wanted to escape to. Your government got you down? Hey that’s OK, come here and we will protect you (results may vary according to skin color or need for natural resources from your homeland.) Seriously, though, we did a pretty good job on that count. Sure there were countries that we were far more likely to accept asylum seekers. Oh how we loved to wax romantic about Russian defectors coming over here.

In all honesty, why wouldn’t they? Sure we have our problems, and we should work tirelessly to fix them. Still, we have it a lot better here than in many places in the world. In many places, you can be killed, on the spot, for speaking out against the government, and not a single soul will speak up on your behalf, at least not in your own country.

I worry about the state of asylum in our country in the near future. With so many politicians willing to pander to those fighting the “culture war” (ie, fighting for their right to oppress others based on their religion) I see asylum seekers being turned away to appease them. I see gay people seeking to escape persecution in Uganda being denied asylum because certain bigoted members of our society will claim we are interfering with Uganda’s right to deal with “those” people how they see fit, and I see politicians caving into those claims. It is too bad, because if there is one thing we have had every right to be proud of the last 50 years or so, it is our willingness to shelter the frightened, sometimes even when they were afraid of our “allies.”

Other countries will pick up the slack. Many of them have pretty severe economic problems now, though, and it will be difficult. It’s kind of embarrassing to think that gay people seeking refuge from persecution would be better off in a country like Spain, steeped as it is in its Catholic traditions and all the difficulties that means for LGBTQ folk, than here.

I hope I am wrong. Not just because of the sad shift in our political culture that it signifies, but because the weak need as many shields from the bullies of the world as they can get. I know much of the rest of the world views the US as bullies, and in some ways, they are right. There are, however, whether you believe it or not, worse bullies out there. Bullies that, as bullies are wont to do, shrink in the presence of someone bigger and tougher than they are. I hope we keep them shrinking away, and giving their victims someone to run to.

Kony, Cruelty, Kindness and Complications

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We live in a cruel world. For most of the folks reading this, and the person writing it, this is more of an abstract idea. We know the horrible things that go on around the world, but they often do not touch us in any real way. Most of us will never know what it is like to go hungry. We will not know what it is like to fear we will never have a roof over our head. Recent events with the Occupy protests not withstanding, if you are white in this country you likely do not know what it is like to have the police arbitrarily hassle you and even brutalize you. Today in America you do not have to worry about the state gathering up groups of people to starve, beat, enslave and/or murder them.

For many of the folks who will never have the chance to read this, though, the world’s viciousness is very tangible. Petty men, with petty ideas inflict their rule on them, depriving them of all manner of security.  So when comfortable Americans take notice, for whatever reason, I feel a pang of hope for humanity and its potential. Sometimes this feeling is justified, sometimes it is not, and sometimes the circumstances bring to light so many complications in our interactions with the less safe world and each other. Such is the case of Joseph Kony.

To those not in the know, he is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. Over the years he has used some clearly monstrous tactics in his efforts most notably the recruiting of child soldiers. He is now on the run and many would like to see him brought to justice. A not for profit organization, Invisible Children, has started a social media campaign, complete with a documentary, to facilitate that end. I want to like this. I do like that so many people are being made aware of the situation in Africa in general and Uganda in particular.

There is a problem, though, with oversimplifying the issue. The terrible conditions in these countries are not the fault of one man, or even one group of men, and they are not independent of our lifestyle and wants here in this country. Leaving aside Invisible Children’s own dubious motives, how can we justify getting in bed with a government like Uganda’s, one with human rights problems of its own? Meanwhile we have to look at our own country’s foreign and energy policies, both relics of a bygone era and the result of our military-industrial complex, and how they influence all the players on the African political stage.

With that in mind, I also feel the need to call out those that are overly worked up about such “slacktivism” (though I admit I love that term.) As I said, the issues in Africa, and around the world are complex, far more complex than most Westerners realize and more complex than many can wrap their heads around. I studied political science, in particular the sort of comparative development issues that are relevant to the situation, and I find myself scratching my head at some of this. People live busy day to day lives and often do not have the background to fully appreciate the circumstances or the time to keep up with it. Which is not to say you shouldn’t educate them about the complexities involved and the inherent dangers of latching onto a particular, narrow cause or savior. One can do that, though, without name calling and anger, without putting those you want to enlighten on the defensive and without raising your own blood pressure.

I think you folks would find you are on the same side. If those who understand the nuances of the situation are patient, and those whose hearts are in the right place keep an open mind you can all do amazing work together. I feel fairly confident in saying you would rather be allies than enemies. How about you all take the time and energy to prove me right?