Flint highlights government’s bad judgement

Imagine bathing, drinking, and utilizing brown, toxic water; all while the public officials whom so graciously represent you continue to deny your insistence for help. This is the reality of numerous citizens in Flint, Michigan.

Since April 2014, Flint residents have had their concerns quashed, and their children put at risk. Now, nearly two years later, Flint residents have been vindicated as reports confirm a high level of lead in the water; water that men, women, and children have been consuming.

After the city took upon the task of utilizing water from the Flint River, rather than Lake Huron, the city neglected to ensure the pipes be coated with sufficient anti-corrosive material, thus leading to toxic water being delivered to residents. In October 2015, state officials finally recognized the danger and switched back to water being delivered from Lake Huron; however, the damage to the lead pipes has already been done. Lead-laced water is still the norm in Flint.

The government in Flint is almost entirely responsible for the crisis, and is now charging people for the poisonous water (even if they don’t use it), or threatening to take children from homes if the water bill is unpaid; and even worse, the city is highly composed of citizens below the poverty line, thus preventing them from leaving.

This crisis not only emphasizes the government’s corruption, but also our own negligence in regulating public officials. How did we, as a society, allow our government to deprecate to a point where they are no longer concerned with citizen’s health, but rather the thickness of their wallets?

We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and some of our cities don’t have clean water, due to our own government’s failure to act; if there was ever a time for us to create a change, it’s now.