My Review of "The Enough Moment" by John Prendergast with Don Cheadle

This book is important for a few reasons. First of all, conflicts in Africa are generally overlooked by Americans unless it concerns N Africa (part of the middle east). Second of all, the lessons in this look does not just apply to Africa. Basically, the human rights crimes that are addressed are rape as a weapon of war, child soldiering, and the like. Many rebel groups use this against communities to break them down. A powerful way to destroy the backbone of a society is to target it's most innocent, helpless, and or defenseless. The stories in here that some survived are so bad, you can't believe a human being could commit them. But the same person who suffered each of these turned their life into something helpful to their community. This book is endlessly inspirational and forces you to think about when your "enough moment" is: when will you come to the point where you are done with sitting there, letting atrocities happen and finally ready to do something about it.

We Have A Problem

Does it sound cold and calloused that I am SICK of seeing a middle eastern country making headlines every single day on CNN.com? Now, let me clarify something: I am not annoyed by any means that there is disruption and riots and protests in these countries. Not at all. What I'm angry about is that there are problems HERE that need IMMEDIATE attention and IMMEDIATE remedies, but are simply being ignored or put on the back burner.

Media is responsible for relaying news to the masses about what is important, and unfortunately, many rely on these mediums to tell them how to feel and what to care about at any given moment. I do not blame people for this, and I am guilty of falling prey to the influence of the media, as well. So to the people, I have no problems. "With great power comes great responsibility," and that is what the media has.

As in-the-know as I like to believe I am, I knew close to nothing about the goings on in Mexico. Sure, you know there's corruption due to the drug cartels, but what else do you know? Do you know about the public gutting on display or the decapitations? What about the rolling heads at the local stores during business hours, or the harassment of citizens to the point of poverty and starvation? Are we told about the constant danger that citizens are put in on a daily basis from the cartels? I know this simply because I have many Hispanic friends with family currently in Mexico.

It's funny, as worried as the politicians and local people are about illegal immigration, there is never any coverage on the reason or anything even relating to life in Mexico right now. Is it that Americans just don't care because "it's not their problem?" Because if that's the case, then why is the middle east being constantly covered? Is it due to gas prices?! That's ridiculous and I don't believe it for a second.

I am positive, positive if more people knew about the goings on in Mexico there would be more action and more care on the subject. Things would be very different here in reference to opinions if there was education on the atrocities. What happens in Mexico directly affects Americans, way more so than what happens in Syria.

. . . What about media coverage on things in the US, like poverty, prejudice towards Muslims and other minority groups? What about our education system or our PRISON system? Don't even get me started on our prison system. . . I'll save it for another blog!

As Tupac Shakur eloquently said, "We have money for wars, but can't feed the poor." Like him, I will never be able to grasp that concept. Could anyone, really?