"Ashton Kutcher recently testified before Congress about his involvement in preventing human trafficking. Most people know him as the actor from "No Strings Attached" and "That 70's Show." Few people know that his life is now comprised of raising his two daughters and working for a non-profit which he is the co-founder of called Thorn. He testified that his organization develops software to prevent the trafficking of people around the world and that his organization has been called by Homeland Security for help.
Further research into Thorn reveals even more. Each year they write an impact report which discusses the change that their organization was able to help make possible. Their 2017 report features 5 major impacts, including the identification of 5,894 children victimized by human trafficking or child abuse, they're helping to speed up the process of investigations which means victims can get help faster. They also provide material for people who are actively seeking help, they have helped people learn about "sextortion," and know that it's okay to ask for help, and continue to grow with more volunteers. According to Kutcher, a tool his company created called Spotlight helped a girl be found within three days of her capture. The technology his company created is helping to save lives, yet people continue to tell him to stop talking about politics and go back to acting. Thorn has also created a technology which allows police to stop sex trafficking on TOR, commonly known as the Darkweb. They develop software they believe can create quantifiable change.
"With the help of Thorn’s tools, law enforcement and investigators have been able to identify 5,791 child sex trafficking victims and rescue 103 children from situations where their sexual abuse was recorded and distributed. We’re building tools to stand up the toughest environments and empowering the frontlines to stop abuse before it happens." That's no small feat. I think this whole organization would be worth the effort even if it helped just one person get out of those conditions. These are real human lives that are being saved by the work of an actor who decided to get involved.
Yes, he was an actor. He isn't any more qualified to start a non-profit and stop child slavery than anyone else. But he decided it was important enough to get involved in and it's been working. So don't tell people to stop talking about what they find important. People tell Kutcher to go back to acting and stop talking about politics, but he has testified before Congress. Don't tell him, or anyone, to stop doing what they're passionate about. Actors can defend the right to pursue happiness as Ashton Kutcher puts it. College students can defend what they believe in. People of any age have the right to speak out against things they believe to be an injustice. Let people help the world instead of telling them they're efforts are in vain, because a look at that 2017 report sheds light on just how wrong that is. We can affect real change.
He testified before a Foreign Relations committee, he said people want more jobs in America so do it, he argues it will prevent slavery and allow for regulation in America to save lives. He acknowledges the possibility of economic backlash, but references that Abraham Lincoln must have also known there would have been an economic backlash from "shutting down the cotton fields in the South when he shut down slavery," but that shouldn't be a concern. For Kutcher, the end of slavery justifies the means of economic discomfort.
Ashton Kutcher's final remark to the committee was at once poetic and poignant. "Happiness can be given to no man, it must be earned. It must be earned through generosity and through purpose. But the right to pursue it? The right to pursue it is every mans right. And I beg of you, that if you give people the right to pursue it, what you may find in return is happiness for yourself. Thank you."
