remember me.

sometimes movies are just movies. they are entertaining for 2 hours, then they are over and you get up and walk out of the theater... but every once in awhile one comes along that you just can't walk away from. upon my recent (although it's getting less and less recent everyday, i might need to start using a different descriptive word and that saddens me - but that's another blog) return from Uganda, a dear friend had just watched War/Dance and suggested i watch it. the movie, filmed in 2005 follows 3 kids from the town of Patongo, a displacement camp in Northern Uganda to the National Music Competition in Kampala. the town was/is under 24/7 military protection from the rebels of the LRA. (if you are unfamiliar with the LRA - you should familiarize yourself right now... it's ok. i'll wait.)

...so now that you know what we're dealing with here. you thought the stuff you read on Wikipedia was terrifying, just watch this movie. it will tear your heart to pieces... not because of the sadness and heartache these kids and so many kids like them dealt/deal with everyday, but their hope and promise of a brighter future. when i wrote about Hotel Rwanda, i had never been to Africa. now that i have, i don't just see these faces of kids on the screen... i've looked into their eyes, i've felt their embrace and spoken with them, which made this movie be all too real for me. they were so inspiring with their dreams of becoming more than what was expected of them. not even living in a war torn camp crushed their hope. if we all could be so strong and brave. did the kids i met (who were equally strong and brave) have these same conflicts as the kids in Northern Uganda, no... but they each have their own story with struggles too.

we all do. we all have a story. we aren't just nameless faces... and kids from around the world sure as hell aren't nameless either. that's what we all have to remember... just like each of us, fighting our own demons, they are too - except one major difference... we have the resources to deal with and eradicate them. if you look in the mirror and think about your "problems" compared to the problems of less fortunate people (here in the US and the world), you might begin to realize your demons, aren't so scary after all. 

http://www.wardancethemovie.com/

"this country [world] will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for ALL of us to live in." Theodore Roosevelt