JFK's Inagural Speech

John F. Kennedy demonstrates wisdom as a commander in chief when he uses the paradox "For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be cetain beyond doubt that they will never be employed" (13). He is telling the United States that he knows how important it is to have a strong military, but also that he knows how undesirable it is to involve the country in a war. By displaying this knowledge to America, Kennedy is already qualifying himself to lead them when times call for rational decision making. He also demonstrates wisdom in another paradox when he says "We observe today, not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom" (2). Kennedy minimizes the importance of individual parties and illustrates the United States' desire for freedom, no matter the leader. He emphasizes that the real celebration is in the fact that they have the freedom to vote for their own leader at all. He pulls himself above the trivial matter of republicans vs. democrats and unifies the Americans under a common cause.

Food Waste

One of the most practical ways to prevent food from going to waste is in dumpster diving. On first impression, many people, myself included, would be repulsed by this term. Jumping into giant trashcans filled with stuff that people don't want? gross. But it is for this very reason that Lars Eighner published his own account of dumpster diving and all its benefits. He tells us about all the little techniques (i.e. when food actually goes bad, as opposed to the expiration date) that he's acquired from this way of life. When you've been exposed, as Eighner shows, to the quantity and surprisingly high quality of food that is thrown away, you realize just how big of food wasters we Americans are. Jeremy Seifer is a more relatable dumpster diver. He has a family and a middle class house, but what gives him insight to our food waste is that instead of buying food for meals, he searches for it in dumpsters. This is not as bad as it sounds. I think I would even allow my husband to do this if it came down to it. Seifer realized how most grocery stores will bundle up all their expired, bruised, or poorly handled food, and throw it all away. He sees this an opportunity to feed his family while also saving money and not letting that food go to waste. Seifer turns out to be a big advocate for charitable organizations that spread America's wealth in trash. He mentions in his documentary, we could feed the entire country of Haiti for seven years with all the food we throw away. It's statistics like that which make you want to conserve your own food and consider the bigger picture of food waste in America. One such person is Maura Daly, who leads Feeding America - our country's largest domestic hunger-relief program. Daly is another who noticed our unnecessary food waste. Her organization relies largely on farmer's food and food processors'. A huge benefit of her cause is that "the reclamation of otherwise wasted fresh produce has steadily risen."
You may not be in a position where you have to go through dumpsters for your meals, or have the ability to begin a hunger relief organization. But even the smallest of saving can help. Such as simply donating leftover food rather than throwing it away. Whatever you do, just consider the 20 million people in the US who go hunger on a daily basis, and see what you can for them.