Fourth Estate

“Proving the universal through the specific.”

It’s one of the first things Jason said at the 2011 Fourth Estate Leadership Summit, followed by, “Write that down in your journals. I’m serious. Did you write it yet? Good.” Throughout the Summit, as an IC supporter, and now as the Communications intern, I’ve heard this phrase countless times since August 4, 2011. However it was only recently that I gleaned its meaning. The words made sense, but I didn’t truly understand what the universal was. The universal is the ethos of Fourth Estate: a belief and worldview in which all human life is equal and we all have a responsibility to protect one another, regardless of where we live.

The below video is a specific proving the universal.

With the amalgamation of human rights and social justice violations occurring in places like Syria, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Burma, Somalia, Tibet, and Sudan (truly only naming a few here) at an overwhelming rate, the efforts to combat them often seem futile. So much so that there are people who genuinely question whether it’s even worth trying to do anything about the injustice.

Micah Bournes responds to this question with a beautifully crafted spoken word piece. One of the most profound lines was:

“And people always ask, “Is it even worth it?” And that question, though understandable it’s… I mean quite frankly it’s ridiculous. And it rarely comes from those who are actually tired from pursuing justice and not just tired of the idea. It rarely comes from people who’ve labored for years and have good reason to ask it. And you know why they never ask? Those types of people become friends with those who suffer. Family even. Because it’s one thing to wonder if someone else’s freedom is worth fighting for, but when you begin to identify with that someone else, commune with them, that’s when the question is no longer worth asking.”

His message hit home because it reflected so much of what we do here at Invisible Children, both on the large and small scale. We have huge dreams and a vision of a world in which where you live doesn’t determine whether you live. A world where biosphere consciousness is the norm, and human rights violations nonexistent. But he really hit home on the personal level too, because of our specific mission to see Joseph Kony and the LRA removed from the battlefield. Our commitment to this issue stems from a promise we made to our friends. These aren’t just nameless faces that we are fighting for. So in our fight against the LRA, we are proving the universal through the specific, just like Micah is proving the universal through the specific in this spoken word piece.

Watch and let us know your thoughts.