Week 8: Letters
1631 words by emilygray
Seriously letters??? Anyway here is a copy of the letters I sent:
Dear President Obama,
I’m writing out of concern for a few issues that are looming in our country. There is a huge epidemic in this country surrounding nutrtion. Not just nutrition in regards to people being underweight and unable to afford food, but also nutrition in respect to the amount of obesity being seen all over. Both of these extremes involving the nutrition habits of this country are costing the states an extremely large amount of money a year.
I feel it would be beneficial to not only the economic future of the country but also to the people themselves that are being affected by the lack of nutrition if you, as President of the United States, stepped up an initiated some kind of program promoting nutrition. Not only would this be available to people who are not able to get food on a regular basis but also to people who eat the wrong kinds of food.
My vision for this program includes cooking ideas, nutrition tips, and low cost healthy meals for the American public. Some people claim that eating healthy is expensive, and in this rough economic time in our country it is important to show people that being healthy can be achieved even on tight budgets.
Also, I think it can be very beneficial for you as president to work with the large food corporations in controlling the price of healthy foods. Realistically it can be cheaper to eat fatty overly processed food. However, if there were just a few simple changes in costs and/or what is covered on the American food stamp program, there can be significant changes in our country’s overall health.
Furthermore, there should be some type of initiative with doctors to work with their patients that are obese and move them in the right direction of a healthy life. This would help to reduce the cost of medical expenses for the both the individual and the country itself.
I hope that you, as the leader of our country, will take the time to thoughtfully consider the issues presented above.
Concerned,
Emily Gray
Dear Governor Jindal,
I am currently a full time senior at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. I was asked in my theology class to think about the three biggest problems in the world and choose one to do a project on. I chose nutrition as a huge problem facing the world. This idea of nutrition includes both those that go to sleep hungry every single and those that make the wrong food choices on a day to day basis leading to obesity and severe health problems.
Being a native of Louisiana my entire life, I know that every event that happens in this state revolves around food. Obesity and health related food issues are much higher in this state than any other. Furthermore, Louisiana has thousands of people that struggle on a daily basis to find food; this being especially true after Katrina when so many lost their homes and their income.
During this rough economic time, I feel it is important that someone in the state step up and lead people in the right direction for a healthy life. This can be economically beneficial for not only the individual people themselves but for the state also. People who are obese and people who are undernourished and underfed tend to have many more healthy problems than those that have a decent diet.
I believe that you as governor and leader of this state have the opportunity to initiate a program or some sort of incentive for people to eat healthy. With some type of state led program people can be on the road to better health. I envision this program to include education of nutrition by doctors to their patients, extra nutrition courses in public schools, healthy meal alternatives free to individuals of the state, and tips, tricks, and recipes available to all people via the internet or through a tollfree phoneline.
I hope that you take the time to consider the concerns addressed in this letter and work to get something going for people.
Concerned citizen,
Emily Gray
Dear Mr. Murdock,
I am a senior at Xavier University of Louisiana. We were asked to do a project on an issue we thought was one of the biggest problems in the world. Growing up in Louisiana and having every event/party/celebration/occasion revolve around a plethora of food, I decided that one of the biggest issues facing the world is nutrition. This includes nutrition in regards to overeating and obesity and making the wrong food choices along with millions of people around the world going hungry every night.
As a result of this, I felt that you could have a big influence on this country as being one of the head leaders to promote healthy eating and a healthy life. I feel as president and owner of a fresh food company, you could easily have the resources to join with other leaders in this country to promote healthy eating.
Also, I was hoping that you could possibly make some food donations/contributions to establishments around the country that feed the homeless and hungry people every night. These establishments rely on low cost or donated food to prepare meals, and as we all know this probably is done with little consideration of the nutritional benefit of the food.
I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope that you will see the problem in the world and join us in fighting to fix it.
Thank you,
Emily Gray
Dear Oprah,
I am senior at Xavier University of Louisiana and am writing today as part of a project for my theology class. We have been asked to focus on one issue we think is one of the major problems in the world and do something this semester to try to fix it. I focused my entire project around nutrition in regards to both people going to bed hungry every night and people who are overweight/obese and that make the wrong food choices.
As a result of this, I decided to write you since you are one of the best gateways of communication to this country and the world. Through you and with the help of you, I feel like some major impact can be made surrounding nutrition.
I have been a committed viewer of the show for as long as I can remember and know that you are a great promoter of nutrition and healthy living. Hopefully this will continue for many years to come.
I know over the years also you have tried to inform the country about people that do not have enough resources, income, or ability to put food on the table every night. Hopefully through your encouragement and eye opening stories about this issue, people will feel more motivated to donate their time or resources to help these people establish a better life. Also, I think it is important to show the people that are in such desperate need for help that there is a way to eat healthy on a budget.
Hopefully you will continue to do the good works that you do and focus more of the lack of nutrition in this country on your show. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Emily Gray
I chose both the president and the governor as people to write letters to because if we can get both our national and local government working to improve this issue, there is a better chance that a real impact and change will take place. I also think it is important that leaders of our country step up and lead the way to a better life in hope that many will follow. Also, they have power in influencing where money is spent in this country and will hopefully budget for this issue. I also chose David Murdock, the president and owner of Dole foods, as a person to write to because he has the financial ability and lifestyle to firsthand make an impact on healthy living. He has devoted his life to changing his diet and living healthy and can spread his tips and tricks all over to show people how it is done. Also, he has the financial ability to be able to donate his own companies healthy food to places that serve food to other people. I also chose to write to Oprah because even though she might be a little out there sometimes, she is still a great source to be able to spread the word about this issue. Therefore I encouraged her to use her resource to educate people about this issue.
God’s house tells us many things about God’s message to all. For example Jesus reveals that in God’s house there are many mansions implying that God’s house is open to all people.
The idea of the promised land is problematic and actually ironic for two reasons. First of all it is ironic because it was “promised” to Moses and by the time Moses gets a chance to see it and get it he dies. Secondly, it is problematic because God promises land that is already inhabited. Therefore, God’s people have to go convince the people that are already living there that the land is really theirs because God says so. This sets up political issues for the rest of eternity basically!
African American criticism can be a useful tool to bible scholars because it focuses on how the Bible portrayed Africa and African people and also can be useful to show how others have misinterpreted the Bible to justify non-existant racism back in the day.