In an attempt to save $6 to $8 million dollars, Flint, Michigan switched water sources from the Detroit system to pull from the Flint River. The decisions to move to the contaminated Flint River and lack of due diligence on the part of the responsible parties has left a community with tens of thousands of residents without drinkable water and will require the lifelong monitoring of the children there to reduce issues caused by drinking contaminated water. The costs, not just in money, will be enormous.
Our leaders have a responsibility to do what’s right for all the people they serve. Our leaders are accountable to us. In a community that provides water to its citizens, the leaders are accountable to all of the people to provide clean, safe drinking water. There can be no exceptions, there can be no decisions that threaten the availability of that water and human lives can never be put at risk.
Because of this lack of accountability, people are coming forward. They have sprung into action and people are angry. People are uprising. People truly want the people around them to do what they say they are going to do. Period.
People want government to be accountable.
The government in Flint did not keep their commitment to those people. Maybe the government didn’t know what they valued. They surely can’t say that they valued the people in Flint, because a normal person would never put the life of someone they valued at risk. Think about it.
The situation in Flint, while tragic, has set people in motion. People in all communities are starting to stand up and say, “You made a commitment to us, now keep it.”
What is going on in your community? Are there commitments that your leaders are not keeping? It is time to say we expect you to keep your commitments to us and we are going to help you be accountable to those commitments. The people in Flint are being responsible and crying out. Where is your outcry?
