SHEDDING A TEAR FOR FLINT, MICHIGAN

Flint, Michigan...it is arguably the saddest place in America right now....and, it is a perfect microcosm of America.

It is seeming increasingly obvious that the governor of Michigan, along with a cast and crew of some of his subordinates, have, due to criminal apathy, been delivering the citizens of Flint, Michigan, most of whom are black, and 42% of whom live under the poverty line, water that is dangerously laden with very high levels of lead and other toxins. In some cases, 300 times the minimal limit that calls for an emergency investigation.

Lead, is a very ominous neurotoxin that causes, among other things, irreversible damage to the brain, most especially to the brain of developing children. There is NO safe amount of lead that can be in the human body...this applies especially to children.

Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart,, intestines, kidney,and reproductive and nervous systems. It interferes with the development of the nervous system and is therefore particularly toxic to children, causing potentially permanent learning and behavior disorders. Symptoms include abdominal pain, confusion, headache, anemia, irritability, and in severe cases seizures, coma, and death.

There is no cure or treatment for lead poisoning...it is not reversible.

Did the hierarchies in the Michigan state house deliberately try and poison the citizens of Flint? Absolutely not, but in the interest of saving money...the government of Michigan decided to turn off the normally healthy water source that had been serving Flint, and the greater Michigan area for decades, in favor of the very toxic and unsafe Flint River as a source of all water...drinking, showering, cooking. The biggest problem with toxic water coming from the Flint River is that it has compounds in it that corrode the lead pipes that serve virtually the entire city of Flint. Unless the water is treated with an anti-corrosive, the Flint River water corrodes the lead pipes, releasing extremely high levels of lead into the the water supply. The governor of Michigan and many of those who work under him knew of this highly poisoned water...and they made an effort to cover it up...for months and months. Flint has been consuming this water since 2014...and, even now, there has been no action to impact the lead content of the water. The lead is still leaching out...and the citizens have only bottled water, and very inadequate water filters to combat this incredible calamity...a man made disaster.

And, adding insult to the lead poisoning ...the citizens of Flint are learning that their homes are of almost no value...no one wants a home in Flint, Michigan. How many more ways can you remove any chance at the American dream for these children of Flint, these mothers, and fathers...Many of these children will sadly end up in the prison system...a symptom of poverty, but also a symptom of the effects of neurological damage caused by lead poisoning.

Citizens of Flint started to notice that their water was brown and orange, and that it had a bad odor, and that many were developing skin rashes and other symptoms. The brain and nervous system damage from lead will not be symptomatic for years...children who are already under a very heavy strain to be fed, educated, and protected, are now going to know (or there parents will know) that mental problems await them...certain learning disabilities await them. These children had no margin for carelessness....no margin for a man made disaster.

As this story unfolds it becomes more tragic and more sinister with each passing day. It is the kind of event that should bring every citizen of this country to their knees...thousands and thousands of children are going to be left mentally and/or physically impaired as a result of this dereliction of duty.

Republican Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan is the man who is in the headlights...his total lack of leadership and lack of social conscience being on display for the entire country to see...

And now for the “microcosm” part:

Flint has no political clout..it has no ability to donate to political candidates, to create a grass roots movement that will be noticed by anyone in the hierarchy. Flint is a town up to it’s neck in poverty...and their citizens have been forgotten...once in the early 80’s when the auto industry jobs that had been the backbone of the Flint economy left for foreign lands...and now, in an even more insidious insult.

America belongs to the rich..those who can hire people to represent their interests. It certainly doesn’t belong to the poor. You can’t get education if you are poor..you can’t easily get food, or shelter, or a job, or opportunity of any kind, or even safe drinking water....and you likely don’t even have a father at home...but the one thing that even the poor are promised in this ”land of the free and the brave” is justice. It is a false promise..it is a myth. Justice for the poor is no less a fantasy than is justice for the poor in India. We have a class based society...make no mistake.

This should bother every American but I don’t think most people even take note of it...none of the Republican candidates for President have anything to say about it. Marco Rubio, who wants to be our President has led GOP candidates in shrugging off the Flint water crisis: “That’s not an issue that, right now, we’ve been focused on”, stated Marco Rubio when asked about this crisis days before Thursday’s Republican debate.

Of course not...these types of issues don’t move the needle with this group of candidates. Rubio and others don’t even have a cursory understanding of one of the most devastating and tragic ”man made” disasters in this country’s history.

In the Name of God.....

Food for Thought...