I am tuned UP will deviate a bit from the norm today. Have you heard of the movement Invisible Children? If you support bands like Thrice and the like, chances are you have.  But if you haven’t, its a movement that was launched nearly 10 years ago to raise awareness of a war in central Africa, in which the leader of the rebel movement, Joseph Kony, has consistently sought to grow his forces through the abduction of children and forced usage of them for his desires.  The boys are forced to wield guns and kill, and the girls are often used as sex slaves.  Now, the world has been made much more aware of the movement and several steps forward have helped those most severely impacted in Uganda.  However, Joseph Kony is still at large and still wreaking havoc.  Invisible Children thinks his capture can happen this year.  The catch is, policymakers in Washington and beyond only act in the interest of themselves and the constituents they represent, so if word spreads about Kony, then it becomes in the interest of policymakers to act in a way that Kony would be brought closer to apprehension.  Below is a video detailing the above, and some more specifics on how Invisible Children plans to get the word out.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc]

As mentioned in the video, getting the word out often means targeting those who have influence. The artists and bands you listen to all have some level of influence.  Mention them in your status updates, shares, and tweets about the STOP KONY movement.  The more artists get involved, I think it will be mutually beneficial – the cause is positive publicity for the artist, and the artist gets word of the cause out to more people.