http://www.takepart.com/place-at-the-table
***Steps up on soap box***
I don't know how many of you have seen this documentary, or at least the advertisement, but it focuses on hunger in America. On March 1 this movie is coming out and I would urge all my readers to at least visit the site to see what you can do to stop hunger.
I have been lucky to never have been hungry like these people. My child has been lucky to never feel hunger. Yet, there are many people out there that are hungry. You know what? That's just plain BS. They say 1 in 2 children will experience hunger in AMERICA? WTF? This is not some third world country people!
I remember when I was in grade school they used to make us write all these papers starting in the 6th grade and ending when you graduated; if you didn't write all these papers you didn't graduate (this is why I can say yes I have had 10K hours of writing!). Most of the time the word was on assigned topics within a time limit. Sometimes you had to go to the library to research and other times you just let your opinion be the guide. They wanted us to be able to communicate in the written word. I distinctly remember my spark for lobbying for homeless and hungry people began there in my 8th grade classroom when I had to choose between writing about Santa Clause and Hunger. I thought it was just wrong that people should be hungry and homeless here. I still do. We send money all over the world, but when it comes to Americans helping Americans that doesn't always happen.
I am a full believer the NO ONE should be hungry and NO ONE should be homeless. For all the problems we have in America lack of food isn't one of them. We need to wake up about this epidemic. Not obesity, but rather the lack of good food.
One of the points that the directs/creators pointed out in an interview I saw was that it isn't people are unable to choose good food; it's that they choose what they can afford. For YEARS I have been saying it's a crying shame that you can go to McBurger World wherever you are and get something for a family of four for under 10 bucks; however, that same family isn't able to go to Wally Grocery Mart and buy healthy foods if they don't have a large food budget.
Look around. People say that "obesity" is a bunch of "lazy" people making "poor choices" in their food. Some of that is true, but not all of it. I bet most of the obese people you see are fat because they can only afford processed foods. If you had a family of four and had to live on $3.00 of food benefits a day...what is easier to get--a .25 cent package of noodles that are full of preservatives--or enough fresh fruits and veggies to feed your family? I'm guessing if you want anything else you are going to be forced to buy the .25 cent noodles so your family doesn't go hungry for the rest of the week. That's not poor food choice making that's having a POOR FOOD CHOICE to choose from!
Now, I know a lot of my readers are in other parts of the world, but I bet if we have a problem here, you have one somewhere close to you. I'm not saying give all your money away. I'm not saying that being rich and achieving your dreams is wrong. I love capitalism, but sometimes I think we could do with just a dash of Marxism, Socialism, and other isms that are scorned by those 10% of haves in the world. I'm not even saying stop what you were doing to take on hunger single handedly...I am saying get involved.
We as humans are consumed by our desires to "earn more""have more""what can we achieve"; we are all guilty of that to a degree...even me. We often trample on other humans getting to whatever ladder we are trying to climb, but I think it could do everyone some good to go out and step back. We need to consider all of man kind as a collective community that everyone belongs to. Stop just thinking of me, me, me. Consider your fellow humans and what they may be going through because in the end what does one more dollar get you? You can't take it with you. Even if you don't believe in a God or an afterlife you still can't take it with you....well you can put it in your coffin I guess, but you won't be enjoying it unless you are a zombie...and last I checked zombies didn't need to shop at the Wally Grocery Mart because they don't eat cupcakes anymore.
Who knows, the person you inadvertently help may be able to rise up and become a more productive citizen who in turn will help others. Or maybe that person will be extra successful and make lots of money and buy YOUR books/art/poetry/etc :)
***End Soapbox Rant***
***Steps up on soap box***
I don't know how many of you have seen this documentary, or at least the advertisement, but it focuses on hunger in America. On March 1 this movie is coming out and I would urge all my readers to at least visit the site to see what you can do to stop hunger.
I have been lucky to never have been hungry like these people. My child has been lucky to never feel hunger. Yet, there are many people out there that are hungry. You know what? That's just plain BS. They say 1 in 2 children will experience hunger in AMERICA? WTF? This is not some third world country people!
I remember when I was in grade school they used to make us write all these papers starting in the 6th grade and ending when you graduated; if you didn't write all these papers you didn't graduate (this is why I can say yes I have had 10K hours of writing!). Most of the time the word was on assigned topics within a time limit. Sometimes you had to go to the library to research and other times you just let your opinion be the guide. They wanted us to be able to communicate in the written word. I distinctly remember my spark for lobbying for homeless and hungry people began there in my 8th grade classroom when I had to choose between writing about Santa Clause and Hunger. I thought it was just wrong that people should be hungry and homeless here. I still do. We send money all over the world, but when it comes to Americans helping Americans that doesn't always happen.
I am a full believer the NO ONE should be hungry and NO ONE should be homeless. For all the problems we have in America lack of food isn't one of them. We need to wake up about this epidemic. Not obesity, but rather the lack of good food.
One of the points that the directs/creators pointed out in an interview I saw was that it isn't people are unable to choose good food; it's that they choose what they can afford. For YEARS I have been saying it's a crying shame that you can go to McBurger World wherever you are and get something for a family of four for under 10 bucks; however, that same family isn't able to go to Wally Grocery Mart and buy healthy foods if they don't have a large food budget.
Look around. People say that "obesity" is a bunch of "lazy" people making "poor choices" in their food. Some of that is true, but not all of it. I bet most of the obese people you see are fat because they can only afford processed foods. If you had a family of four and had to live on $3.00 of food benefits a day...what is easier to get--a .25 cent package of noodles that are full of preservatives--or enough fresh fruits and veggies to feed your family? I'm guessing if you want anything else you are going to be forced to buy the .25 cent noodles so your family doesn't go hungry for the rest of the week. That's not poor food choice making that's having a POOR FOOD CHOICE to choose from!
Now, I know a lot of my readers are in other parts of the world, but I bet if we have a problem here, you have one somewhere close to you. I'm not saying give all your money away. I'm not saying that being rich and achieving your dreams is wrong. I love capitalism, but sometimes I think we could do with just a dash of Marxism, Socialism, and other isms that are scorned by those 10% of haves in the world. I'm not even saying stop what you were doing to take on hunger single handedly...I am saying get involved.
We as humans are consumed by our desires to "earn more""have more""what can we achieve"; we are all guilty of that to a degree...even me. We often trample on other humans getting to whatever ladder we are trying to climb, but I think it could do everyone some good to go out and step back. We need to consider all of man kind as a collective community that everyone belongs to. Stop just thinking of me, me, me. Consider your fellow humans and what they may be going through because in the end what does one more dollar get you? You can't take it with you. Even if you don't believe in a God or an afterlife you still can't take it with you....well you can put it in your coffin I guess, but you won't be enjoying it unless you are a zombie...and last I checked zombies didn't need to shop at the Wally Grocery Mart because they don't eat cupcakes anymore.
Who knows, the person you inadvertently help may be able to rise up and become a more productive citizen who in turn will help others. Or maybe that person will be extra successful and make lots of money and buy YOUR books/art/poetry/etc :)
***End Soapbox Rant***