Starving

I was watching a news magazine show on The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and it reminded me of the saying: "out of sight, out of mind," because I had completely forgotten about those in dire need of food in America. I don't mean to sound as though I am on a pedestal. I am very thankful that I have food to eat but in a country where there are stores overflowing with food, countless food and restaurant chains and an obesity epidemic, I--thankfully--have enough food to eat and I always notice that people are eating.

There is no worse place to be poor than in Ameica. I grew up all over the world and I was completely ignorant of homelessness and people without enough to eat. Juxtapose myself to my father who grew up with only rice and bread to eat. My father would have been similar to the child on the television show that did not know that it was "common" to have three meals a day and that when asked the names of the three meals, instead named the foods that he ate. My father grew up in a neighborhood similar to where the story took place: Camden, New Jersey. These poor areas of the U.S. are so dangerous that one cannot walk down the street without having one's guard up and anticipating a crime to occur.

I guess my father didn't tell me a lot about being poor because it was painful and he wanted to protect me. However, ignorance hurt because I am someone who loves problem-solving. I do not understand why the foods that are unopened and about to expire shortly cannot be donated to the food banks or other charities. I do not know if this is happening but I would like to propose that idea to every business that sells foods and those members in Congress so that everyone will be fortunate enough to eat.

Life, for me, has always been about experiences over material things. In Europe, it is part of the culture to sit down and enjoy meals by savoring the flavors of the foods and wine, having good conversations, and having a festive atmosphere.

I will propose the idea about the expired food thing to the White House--they are probably sick of me having opinions about everything and other government officials as well as stores. I hope that some good will come out of it and the corporations may even be able to receive a tax break for their philanthropy.       

A Great Example of a Double Standard

"The hypocrisy of Democracy"--Chris Rock.

I dislike the term, "anti-war". I prefer that the protesters are called pro-peace. The protesters had an official order to not hold their demonstrations in front of The White House, but did so, and were arrested. From the news link, it seemed peaceful and it had a well-educated crowd--it included Daniel Ellsberg--but they disobeyed an order and were arrested.

Too bad this logic does not apply to the families of fallen soldiers, who cannot draft such orders when they have the religious zealots spreading fake information, and being rowdy outside of their relatives' funerals. Their erratic behavior is viewed as tolerable and is protected under The First Amendment. . .I am far too logical.

I have never felt the need to be on one side or the other. I always hope for peace, and until it occurs, I try to reason what is best to help those devastated by war. This may seem contradictory, but I refuse to be as naive as to believe that my vote counts, I know that it does not, and that my voice will be heard, I have written those in government and have not received any responses. I know that a lot of what is said is said, "in theory". It appears contradictory that we are supportive of protests in other countries but angered by those in our own.



It seems as though these wars: Iraq and Afghanistan, and the new bombing campaign in Libya are testing our rights. Do the American people want more wars? I want peace. We have tried war for too long: Afghanistan marking the longest U.S. War in American history.

Here is the link to the AP story about the protesters:
U.S. Protesters arrested at the White House