Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Watch Video Support PBS Shop PBS Search PBS
Photo of Bill Moyers Bill Moyers Journal
Bill Moyers Journal
Bill Moyers Journal
Watch & Listen The Blog Archive Transcripts TV Schedule

« Bill Moyers' Ridenhour Courage Prize Acceptance Speech | Main | Is Congress Capable of Making Farm Subsidies Fair? »

Bill Moyers Rewind: Life On The Edge (2002)

In 2002, NOW WITH BILL MOYERS broadcast this report exploring hunger in Oregon. From producer Tom Casciato, the story profiles the Oregon Food Bank and their struggle to reduce hunger.
Update Required

Sorry in order to watch this video clip you need the latest version of the free flash plug in. CLICK HERE to download it and then refresh this page.

We invite you to respond below.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/mt3/mt-tb.cgi/1433

Comments

Hello! Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource! PS: Sorry for my bad english, I'v just started to learn this language ;) See you! Your, Raiul Baztepo
Eventually, people in this country will have to realize that these things exist here. Real hunger, not just families needing food stamps to buy bologna and white bread, but even more hunger, where the food stamps don't last long enough and families -- children -- go to sleep hungry. No bologna, no bread. Hungry. And we DON'T have the best hospitals and health care in the world. And we DON'T have the only decent universities and research labs in the world. And we DON'T have the best this, the best that, the best everything. We have a good country. We have a country we can love. But we're not taking care of it, and it's getting shabby around the edges. Time to wake up and smell the ... oops, sorry, no bologna, no bread, no coffee.
Like Dr. Paul stated our democracy is broken.It has ran its course.Lets turn the page.
Concerned viewers need an update on this rewind. It is not as if things have turned around in Oregon since then. Watching people for a half hour makes us curious about their fate. I can say that there are schools in Gaston County (N.C.) where 90% of the students are eligible for free lunch, but that the county commissioners and the school board don't want them to have it. Admitting the truth subverts their boosterism. What do we do with people who can't make it under this system? Do we wait for Haitian style food riots? I've been hungry enough several times to consider crime as a relief to my predicament. When 10% of the citizenry is on food stamps (as humiliating as that can be) we know many more aren't able to eat right or have a decent bed. The conclusion would be apparent to any reasoning individual. This economic system is not fair and does not work. We will continue having the paradoxical problems until we change the economic system, and to change it we need responsive democratic (not the damned party, per se) government. It's like the wealthy class is separated from the rest of us by...
Not only is spirituality of less quality when you are hungry, but your ability to complain or resist. The asymmetry of power is well illustrated by the Olympic Torch Run in San Fran. this week. Here is the symbol for an elite organization, a symbol originated by Nazi Germany, protected by Chinese commandos averaging 6'3", representing the competition of a bunch of drugged up, corporate fed muscle heads being paraded before us to drum up sales. I advise everyone to boycott this olympic fantasy by not watching it on TV this August and not discussing it. I also advise slackerism on your job (There is no security anyway in this economy.) especially if your pay is low or if you are preying on the public to make your master's living. I stock at night for fascist Walmart, which means I hide, fool around, play dumb, sabotage and waste time making Renee, my supervisor explain everything to me and reprimand me. I do just enough to hang on by a thread, and I enjoy the game. I'm tired when I go home but I sleep so sound and have dreams about a future where people have rights and fairly paid jobs...
I was deeply saddened by the program on hunger this evening, but my sadness turned to outrage when Rep. Robert Bentley was interviewed and used the age-old rationalization that the poor may be hungry, but they're rich spiritually. Shame on you, Rep. Bentley, sitting there so smug and free from hunger. Try cooking up a spiritual stew for dinner tonight and see how full you get.

Post a comment

THE MOYERS BLOG is our forum for viewers' comments intended for discussing and debating ideas and issues raised on BILL MOYERS JOURNAL. THE MOYERS BLOG invites you to share your thoughts. We are committed to keeping an open discussion; in order to preserve a civil, respectful dialogue, our editors reserve the right to remove or alter any comments that we find unacceptable, for any reason. For more information, please click here.

THE MOYERS BLOG
A Companion Blog to Bill Moyers Journal

Your Comments

Podcasts

THE JOURNAL offers a free podcast and vodcast of all weekly episodes. (help)

Click to subscribe in iTunes

Subscribe with another reader

Get the vodcast (help)

Newsletter    For Educators    About the Series    Bill Moyers on PBS    Feedback

© Public Affairs Television 2008    Privacy Policy    TV Schedule    DVD/VHS    Terms of Use    FAQ