Jul
4
The 4th & The Right To Eat All The Hotdogs You Want
Posted by Helen Hoefele in Uncategorized
The Fourth of July signifies different things to different people. Some of the following references probably strike a chord with you…..
- We’ve got the traditional fireworks, picnics, hotdogs, and apple pie.
- We’ve got the classic educational School House Rock Videos .
- We’ve got the regular fireworks broadcast, like the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks.
- We’ve got the usual online video tributes and emails, such as this Happy Independence’s Day Greeting from Godaddy.com .
- Then there is the less serious events of the day, such as the Competitive Eating contests.
Let’s look a little closer at this last, less serious, yet equally controversial, topic…
We can begin with the latest news reports featuring the jaw-arthritis-hampered Kobayashi and one of his long-shot competitors, CrazyLegsConti, both of whom have been getting more than their fair share of press over the past few weeks.
Entertainment is simply that, entertainment. So, it is okay to not take everything so seriously all the time. We could easily get into a red-in-the-face debate about the controversial issues around competitive eating, such as how this isn’t real news, or about the health concerns, the rewarding of indulgent behavior, or the waste of food when there is hunger in other parts of the world. But apparently the IFOCE was created to insure the safety of these events. They have even set up ways to accept donations for the hungry through Second Harvest and the American Red Cross.
So, let’s find the balance. Let’s enjoy the events of the day. And let’s also take (at least a few minutes) to appreciate our liberties and human rights, which at least on paper, are considered to be inalienable:
In the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson famously condensed this to: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. . .”
