It’s not a color-challenged heart.
Good news! There is no more hunger in America. Those children who go to sleep each night with empty bellies knotted in pain and whose cognitive abilities are being stunted by lack of adequate nutrition – they aren’t hungry. They’re just experiencing “food insecurity.”
And now there’s a cute new “poverty-stricken” Muppet named Lily to tell us all about it. Sesame Street’s TV special airing tomorrow night got the title right: “Growing Hope Against Hunger,” but then cops out with their discussion of “food insecurity.”
How is “food insecurity” easier to explain to kids than “hunger?” Kids know bullshit when they hear it. While I believe the show’s heart is in the right place, glossing over the shameful epidemic of hunger in America by assigning it a more palatable name just makes it easier for people to turn their eyes away from the real horror of this nation’s hungry men, women and children.
“A rose by any other name smells just as sweet” and hunger by any other name is still a national shame that robs us all of the many contributions that a healthy, adequately fed population might bring to this country. We’ve become so politically correct so as not to offend, but there are some things we should be offended by. There are some things whose harsh reality should not be made palatable.
I’m sure the Sesame Street special will be well done and a valuable starting point for a discussion with children about hunger. But if you really want your well-fed kids to understand what hunger does to a person, take them to a homeless shelter and introduce them to some real life children who are experiencing such lack. Lily, the Muppet, doesn’t live there.