Art of Conservatism---Flint

This post was created March 17, 2016, as a answer to an E-mail from my best friend Len Watson,  who has his own blog on blogspot, "DC to White Light". Check it out at scopefocus.blogspot.com. 

Let me get this essay started by telling you why I'm rather emotionally attached to this story.
 
Flint, Michigan—I grew up rather close Flint. Well, down the road a piece in Pontiac, Michigan. As a teen-age member of the local YMCA's swim team, I visited Flint a bunch of times to compete with their local YMCA team, as well as other Y's in Saginaw, Bay City, Port Huron and Birmingham. All the towns were pretty much the same---one-industry cities, auto factories, not too much else. All these have suffered in the wake of the loss of auto industry jobs and of gross government mismanagement at the hands of the Left. No point in denying that. You can't blame Conservatism for the failure of this region if the Right was never allowed to take any part in running it.

Which brings us to the great Flint lead contamination caper. This is a slow developing disaster which could have been prevented, if anyone---anyone in the power structure of this country—had just picked up the ball and screamed for help to remedy this situation. But no one did. Yet, for that matter, if they had, would the drive-by media have let the world in on it before now?


Indeed, in the final analysis, in any analysis, there's plenty of blame to go around

I'd start with the local water utility. What's with the lead pipe STILL being there? And, Flint is not alone in this. The water mains are not leaded (usually) but if they are, they should have been replaced many years ago. And it's even worse on the individual house feeds. The replacement is expensive, but for every homeowner, I'd call it a necessity. I wouldn't mandate it via law, but an intensive, lengthy educational campaign, a la what was done with the smoking problem, would go a long way toward getting the lead out. And, much though I despise using the tax code to influence individual behavior, in this instance I wouldn't rule out tax incentives as a way to get individual homeowners to make a change which is otherwise in their best interest.

Continuing the blame game: What about the culpability of the bean-counter in Michigan state government who MANDATED that the city  turn to the Flint River for its drinking water, with NO study to determine the possible health risks.

Even more on the hook is the jerkweed witch in the Chicago EPA office who saw the problem early on and did nothing about it for eleven months. Yes, this is an indictment of the EPA and a good reason to downsize, if not eliminate it. When a government agency terrorizes local businesses and individuals as the EPA has, while neglecting a vital part of its reason to exist, then it should undergo a massive house-cleaning, just like the VA and the IRS. And the Department of Education (Indoctrination) while we're at it. But I digress.

Governor Snyder also deserves a portion of the blame for this. Again, he should have acted in a far more responsible manner in dealing with this. It was his action in rescuing Flint from its own fiscal irresponsibility which caused an even bigger irresponsibility toward the citizens of Flint. Sad to say, their only culpability was in continuing to elect and re-elect Democrats to mid- and high political office.

Remember this: It is a little-known fact, but one that should be much better known, that a major reason for Rome's decline and fall was that for generations, both the drinking water and the wine drunk by all of the population had been transported and stored in lead vessels, which just HAD to have addled the minds of everyone who used them, from the slaves to those at the top. What kind of decision-making can anyone do when their minds have been so affected by lead contamination?

And no, I'm not digressing. Remember: The Democrat/Socialist/Statists among us blame we of the Right, and falsely, for that which THEY do. Another sign of where they stand with God's will.

As I said---don't get me really going on this. A disaster could have been prevented. Now, a lot of young lives have been unalterably damaged. Changed. Disaster. Shame. Culpability. If justice is to be served, a lot of heads should roll for this. It's enough to drive any thinking person nuts. Ugh. 

Last thought: pray for Flint. And especially for the kids who have to drink that 'water'.

For Art of Conservatism, I'm Art Reis