MISSION: Make the Invisible Children Visible

                                                               
  What comes to mind when  you hear "invisible children"? Do you think about that imaginary friend you had when you were 5? Or about some ghost in a horror movie? Well I bet you do not think about child soldiers in northern Uganda. CHILD soldiers. FIGHTING in a WAR. In northern Uganda. Crazy right? You probably have never heard or seen this before. Maybe you think that because it is not going on around you that it is not important. However, that is false. And apparently, I am not the only one that thinks so.

     Since the 1980s, a group called the Lord's Resistance Army, or the LRA, has been terrorizing the people of Uganda. This group abducts children and forces them to fight for them as child soldiers. If these children resist or attempt to escape they are killed. The LRA invades villages and leaves a path a destruction, blood, and tears behind them. The LRA was said to be created by a woman named Alice Lawkenwa. She said that the Lord spoke to her and told her to rebel against the Ugandan. Alice Lawkenwa gained followers as resentment toward the government increased. Later on she was exiled, and her so called cousin, Joseph Kony, took over the army. Because the actions of Kony caused the support of the LRA to dwindle, Joseph Kony began to abduct children to use in the war. Today, Joseph Kony is still the leader of the LRA. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Joseph Kony.



The Founders of Invisible Children

      In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers, Jason Russell,Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole, from  southern California traveled to Uganda. Uganda is a country in central Africa. The three filmmakers thought that it would be the trip of a lifetime, and it was. The things that they saw in Uganda would change their lives forever. Throughout their trip to Uganda, the filmmakers from southern California recorded video footage of what they saw. They then used this footage to make a documentary called "Invisible Children: Rough Cut". This documentary received attention from people all over the nation. The attention caused the young men to found the Invisible Children foundation.

     The Invisible Children foundation is a non-profit organization striving to attain peace in Uganda and all over central Africa. By using various forms of media, Invisible Children hopes to inform people of the western world about the situation in Uganda, and also give them information about how they can help. The creation of Invisible Children has already helped out the cause. Peace talks have been made. President Obama has sent advisory troops to help stop the LRA. The trouble in northern Uganda has ended.

     However, there is still a lot more progress to be made. Joseph Kony and his army may have left northern Uganda, but they just moved to more areas of Africa. That means that there are a lot more people that need our help. 

     How can you help?

• Donate money
• Take part in the 25 Campaign
• Create a Frontline page via the Invisible Children website

To learn more about Invisible Children and to help support the cause visit the Invisible Children website!
http://invisiblechildren.com/ 

1 NATION SAVED
900,000 RETURNED TO THEIR HOMES

5,000,000 PEOPLE AWARE 

It's Amazing How Differently People Can Interpret The Bible

The Bible

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

     John 3:16 says that God sacrificed his own son for us. For all of us. For everyone that believes. He did not say for for men only, for women only, or for children only. God said that his son was sacrificed for those who believe in him. These believers do not exclude homosexuals or soldiers.

Westboro Baptist Church



 Fred Phelps



      The Westboro Baptist Church was founded in 1955 by Pastor Fred Phelps in Topeka, Kansas. The Westboro Baptist Church opporates on the beliefs that God hates homosexuals and troops, that Jews killed Jesus, and that God hates America. The people of this church say that all people would realize this if they just read the bible. If I recall correctly, the bible states that God loves all people that have faith in him.

     The followers of the Westboro Baptist Church picket various events such as military funerals and celebrity events that attract media attention. Shirley Phelps-Roper, one of the leaders of the church says, "You think our job is to win souls to Christ. All we do, by getting in their face and putting these signs in front of them and these plain words, is make what's already in their heart come out of their mouth". This is what she says is her reason for picketing. 

Shirley Phelps-Roper

     The church also has many other extremist beliefs, these include the condemation of Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam.

     People that have heard about the Westboro Baptist Church have had many opinions about the subject, but about 93% of the feedback has been negative.  I believe that the actions of the followers of this church are idiotic, immoral and unecessary. Acts of charity are suppose to be moral and helpful. Putting people down and insulting others based on their religion, race, or sexual orientation is definitely not helping anyone, and I don't think God would encourage that. I really don't know how people can believe the nonsense that is taught there sense it is all bogus and made up and based off of a wrong interpretation of the bible. God gave us all human dignity, which means that everyone deserves, and should be given, respect. But, this is just my opinion.


Children from WBC picketing



When It Comes to Cyberbullying, Just Say NO

Cyber bullying - the use of technology to harm people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner.

     As many of us know, bullying has changed from the “give me your lunch money” way to cyber bullying. Even though cyber bullying involves no physical contact it is still as harmful or even more harmful then the general idea of bullying. Cyber bullying may not hurt a person on the outside, but it hits hard on the inside. To many people, getting hit on the inside hurts way more. The phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me” is not proven true by cyber bullying. Truth be told, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can also hurt me” is a more accurate saying, especially in this day and age.

     Many middle school and high school students have been a victim or a witness to cyber bullying. It comes in many different shapes and forms; texts, emails, instant messages, and on social networking sites like twitter or facebook. Via these forms of technology, many teens throughout the nation have been attacked with a wide array of hurtful names and slurs. Although many of these victims have alerted adults or any other form of higher authorities, the bullying has not ceased. In some instances, because the victims “snitched” the bullying and harassment increased. This increase may be due to the fact that the bullies feel that because the bullying is done electronically that no one can actually force them to stop.

     I believe that cyber bullying is definitely wrong and needs to be stopped. Most of the things that cyber bullies say via technology, they would not say to someone’s face. It is just an instance of cowardice and unruly behavior. Because of the way things are today, we are forced to take a stand. Sitting back and watching is not going to help anyone, not even ourselves. Only you can prevent cyber bullying.  

                                

Stop Cyberbullying
 - http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html 
 - http://www.cyberbullying.us/

Bullying Is For Losers

    What goes through people's heads when they bully someone? What pleasure to people get from tearing others down? To me, the reasons for bullying are incomprehensible. I believe that all people no matter what their gender, religion, race, or orientation, should be treated equally and with respect.

     Just today I was made aware of the tragic death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old from the city of Buffalo, NY. Jamey was bullied day after day because of his sexual orientation. On a daily basis, Jamey had a wide array of gay slurs thrown at him. All of the bullying built up to a point where Jamey felt that he had to commit suicide, something no one should ever have to do. Jamey always had the support of his friends and family, but I guess the negatives overtook the positives. He tried to maintain a strong front so that no one could see that any of the hurtful words were getting to him. A lot of the bullying that happened to Jamey was done via internet, on social networking sites such as Twitter. In fact one of Jamey's final goodbyes was made on Twitter. On September 18th, the day he committed suicide, Jamey tweeted to Lady Gaga, " bye mother monster,thank you for all you have done, paws up forever".


       As a tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer, Lady Gaga dedicated her performance of her song "Hair" at the iHeart Radio Music Festival to Jamey. Along with Lady Gaga, there are other celebrities out there that are supporting Jamey, his family, and other teens in the nation that are facing the same situation. Jamey's mother, Tracey, said that her son was put on earth for this short time to show why bullying is wrong. Jamey's father, Tim, said, "my message to the parents is, 'Badger your kids and make them talk,' or get them the help they need,”.

      Jamey Rodemeyer is not the only teen that faces bullies. Unfortunately, teens are bullied all over America. Bullying can be anything that constantly hurts someone. It is not just via internet like it was for Jamey. In some cases, teens are physically bullied. For example, Elise, from Brockport, NY, was harassed everyday on the bus. She was tripped and hit by older students.

     These series of reported incidents of bullying and harassment have led to national acknowledgement of causes to end it. Many people have stated their opinions of what happened. Lady Gaga, during her performance at the iHeart Radio Music Festival, said, "bullying is for losers". I agree with this statement. Courtney W. says "Bullying comes in many forms. If it makes you uncomfortable, it's bullying. BE A BETTER PERSON!". "Bullying has morphed into something that is uncontrollable now.  With the use of social medias bullying has increased to a level that in unimaginable", says Samuel H. Kathryn P. states "bullying is become a huge problem across America, and society should do whatever they can to stop it". The dean of my school, Mr.Miller, says "bullying has changed to cyberbullying".

     I believe that bullying truly is a major problem with teens in this nation. Sometimes it involves a lack of self confidence and other times it happens because people want to fit in. However, this problem needs to be fixed. It is hurting innocent students physically, as well as emotionally. I also believe that there are three things that need to be thought of to prevent bullying. First, spread the love. Second, don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to yourself. Lastly, one action starts a chain reaction.  

Everything In My Family Belongs to Me?

Does everything that anyone in your family owns also belong to you?

I believe that the answer is no. Of Course family is suppose to share what they have, but not exactly everything. For example, if you bought yourself a new toothbrush are you suppose to share that with every member of your family? I don't think so! That would be gross and a practice of bad hygiene.

You have a choice of what to share. All of the things that you own you may not want to share. For instance, if you buy a new car, with your own money, you may not want to let your parents or siblings drive it. However, you may give them rides. I guess that in its own is a way of sharing.

People Who Lie

     When people lie, should they regain trust easily? I believe that the first lie is forgivable, but the lies that follow may not have the same answer. Trust takes a long time to build, and lying just destroys that trust. Trust is like a house made of cards. It takes a really long time to built it, but if you take one card away the whole structure crumbles.

     Lies that protect people are okay to tell, that is, if the person wants to be protected. When I say lies that protect people, I don't mean a kid lying to his teacher about something, I mean like the witness protection kind of lies. Other than that, people should be told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Leaving out a big part of the truth is almost just as bad as lying.

     When people lie to me it makes it hard for me to completely trust them again. Also, the bigger the lie, the bigger the impact. Liars aren't in good standings with me.