Notes from the Hunger Banquet

I think it's worth noting that the opening prayer was given in Japanese, and that it was one of the most memorable prayers I ever felt.
Many people throw up their hands and say that hunger is a huge problem that will never be stopped, or advanced upon, but it can be. The poor are not helpless. They are hardworking, HOPEFUL, merely lacking in circumstance.
Belief, Faith, Hope, Charity: has the power of these four heroes ever been so underestimated? Progress hit no brick wall when we discovered the "new world". When we geographically quit expanding, we did not lose the opportunity to start over, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We GAINED that power. We earned the means to become men of principle, rather than men of land. We earned the resources to help others, and not simply look out for ourselves. The pioneers are not extinct; they have found higher ground to conquer: humanity.
There is no "other" kind of people. There are no Americans and Africans and Arabs and Canadians. There are men and women and children, and dignity therein. Potential doesn't belong only to the rich. It is everywhere. In everyone. And there is power in those who believe that.
Let's change the world singing "Hare Krshna" and dancing and smiling.
Let's look back on our college years and be proud of what we were starting.

Then in closing:
"We pray that we will be able to carry these messages with us for the rest of our lives."