Undoubtedly, the Kony issue is a complex one that cannot be summed up in a 30-minute video or in a clever, tweetable catchphrase. I have heard opinions from both sides; with those in favor of the Kony 2012 cause arguing from an understandably emotional position that the perpetrator of these war crimes should be brought to justice no matter what the cost. No one besides Joseph Kony himself would argue otherwise.

On the other side, both those against the U.S. getting involved and those who simply criticize the video, Ugandans included, point to several flaws. They argue that Kony was at the height of his power 10 years ago, committing the majority of his crimes then. The question this presents is, why now? Could it possibly be that Invisible Children simply is looking for more publicity?

Also, from a financial standpoint, it has been reported that only 32 percent of donations go to Uganda, and of that, the majority go to the Ugandan military. The problem with that is that the Ugandan military and government is commonly known to be corrupt and has committed many of the same crimes they are supposed to be trying to prevent. Because Invisible Children refuses to turn its financial records over to the Better Business Bureau, instead only giving statistics on their own website, the actual amount that goes to Uganda is unclear.

Finally, people who have been aware of this cause for some time now point to the fact that the U.S. already has military in Uganda, and there is no need for the U.S. government to pull them out.

However, this complex issue still is emerging, which makes me hesitant to take either side. I hope supporters choose to do some more research. Be activists, not slacktivists; supporting a cause you know little to nothing about is naïve.

Until concrete evidence comes out supporting one side, passions will flare up on both sides and petty arguing will dominate the discussion, rather than what should be at the forefront of attention: the arrest of Kony.

Controversies often arise when countries get involved in foreign affairs involving force. When did the U.S. become the global police and how long will the job be ours? When do we get a break from spending billions of dollars overseas along with risking the lives of countless men and women?

In the Kony 2012 video, Jason Russell mentioned that at first, government officials said they would not get the military involved in something that is not in the U.S.’ security or financial interests. Although the point of that might have been to show the officials as slow to act, I was pleased when I saw that. I always have wondered why people, especially American citizens, expect the U.S. to go into certain areas and bring justice, either by capturing a dictator, bringing democracy, protecting a nation or otherwise.

There have been attempts at global peace, such as the League of Nations, then the United Nations. Those entities have created laws against atrocities such as genocide or human trafficking. However, without enforcement, those laws are meaningless. That leaves the U.S. as the only country willing to intervene among many peaceful countries unified in speech against global crime. As former Secretary of State Madeline Albright said, the U.S. is the “indispensable nation.”

Obviously there needs to be a force in place to keep the world safe, and I would go as far to say it has to be the U.S. Who else can do it? Because our nation is so devoted to national defense and liberty, we have created the most powerful military in the world. However, that leaves us in a catch-22; if we choose to keep our troops out of harm’s way and let the world solve its own problems, such as World War II, we are called isolationists and heartless. If we get involved, such as in Iraq, we are called imperialist.

Although I do not have a solution to this situation, what I do know is it is not fair to continue to demand the U.S. to play peacekeeper. Our military is forced to be the world police and is forced to do the thankless job of cleaning up the world’s messes. Kony 2012 is an international issue and should be solved by international forces.

Jameson Joyce is a State News guest columnist and James Madison freshman. Reach him at joyceja1@msu.edu.