Address rising hunger
Think about six people in your life. Now imagine one of them being hungry. That is hunger in the United States. Now only think of five of those people. That’s what food insecurity in Arkansas looks like, according to Feedingamerica.org.
In Arkansas, hunger is on the rise, being the hungriest state in the nation for numerous years now, alongside our neighboring state of Mississippi. While hunger is on the rise, we must consider what we are doing at home that could prevent hunger.
Something that needs to be considered when addressing the hunger epidemic is how much we’re wasting, what people need, and how to make the most of what we have. In these ways, we can contribute by making small changes in our everyday life for a monumental change in hunger.
One important thing to consider before making dinner or going grocery shopping is if it’s excessive. By buying and serving adequate portion sizes, we could save thousands of pounds of food. Once we have considered the amount of food that we need, we should take note of the food we have not used and, if we will, donate it to the closest food pantry for use before the expiration date. Another way is this very newspaper in the Wednesday edition makes a simple yet nutritious meal plan for the whole week that builds on itself. This enables you to make delicious meals, saving you not only time but also money.
Hunger in our nation is unjustifiable as we have more than enough to lower the alarming amount of people going without food by a significant percentage. Thoughtful, simple changes can affect more than our pocketbooks. They can change how much food can go into mouths instead of a landfill. The first thing to change is to become educated about the commonly unknown problemhunger.
KEVIN AZANZA
Rogers
Just stop the whining
Every once in a while I agree with something John Brummett writes (not too often, mind you). I think his piece, “Trophies all around,” was really off-base. How long are the whiners like Mr. Brummett going to beat the issue of the electoral college versus the popular vote? Yes, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote primarily due to California, but lost in the electoral college. She and her team knew the rules going in, but elected to ignore the states she needed to win because she thought she had them in the bag. She didn’t and hence lost them and the election.
So, Mr. Brummett, quit whining. If you want to complain, direct your complaints toward Clinton and her advisers who read the tea leaves all wrong. The electoral college still makes sense, and until the Constitution is amended (if ever), it’s the law of the land. Accept it. Finally, Brummett’s ridiculous analogies at the end of his piece are an insult to his readers’ intelligence.
PETE RATHMELL
Garfield
We’ll survive Trump
I do not like President-elect Donald Trump. To steal a remark from Winston Churchill about Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Mr. Trump is “a bull who carries his own china shop around with him.”
Fortunately, the United States is a tough country. We have survived mad men like Andrew Jackson, weaklings like James Buchanan, wealthy businessmen like Herbert Hoover, and simpletons like George Bush. Along the way we were almost destroyed by the Civil War, faced the robber barons in the late 19th century, and then tackled the Great Depression and the Nazis in the 20th century. We lived through hysterical movements such as the Know-Nothing Party, the KKK, the Red Scare, and McCarthyism. We survived floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, the great influenza epidemic, polio, the 1930s dust bowl, and assorted other natural and man-made disasters. We are not standing on the abyss; we will survive President Trump.
For those of us who lost, let us calm down a bit, learn from our mistakes, get prepared for the next election by broadening the base of the Democratic Party, and try to get through the coming unpleasantness as best we can.
BOBBY ROBERTS
Little Rock
Please, learn history
If anyone wants a realistic perspective on the history of politics and government, then please actually learn your history. Too many of us rely on the so-called “liberal media” if they are of a liberal persuasion, or the apparent fake news that comes from Fox News and AFR if they are of a conservative bent, instead of actually studying real history.
I believe the most casual perusal of real history reveals that Karl Marx got at least one thing right. Whoa, right-wingers! I’m not promoting communism. I just want to point out a truth Marx spoke. He said that human history shows an ongoing struggle between haves and have-nots. If this is true, and any reasonable person knows that it is, then what we should do is decide whether we are a “have” or a “have-not.” In other words, are you a member of the economic elite, or a member of the general populace?
One only has to look at the people Donald Trump is stacking his potential Cabinet with to decide which group, haves or have-nots, are going to benefit from his presidency. Which group do you belong with? Think about it.
RL HUTSON
Cabot
And full speed ahead
The following sounds a little like Captain Trump: “Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead.” We should add a rhyme: Don’t worry about Satan; fight him until you are dead.
THOMAS W. KELLER
Little Rock
Less, not more of that
Re Sally Mays’ letter commenting on Arkansas ranking fourth in poverty, income second-lowest in the country and the 10th-worst state in high school education: To fix this she feels that Arkansas would benefit from some progressive governing.
The fact is progressives (Democrats) up until the election of 2012 had been in control of the state Legislature since 1874 (139 years). In 2013, Republicans took control of the House, 51-49, and the Senate, 21-14. For 139 years, the policies of Arkansas were set and controlled by Democrats. Judging from the statistics stated above, it seems Democrats did not do a very good job during the time they were in control. Maybe it is time to try something different than progressive policies from the left for the next 139 years. What do you have to lose?
KEN SPARROW
Conway