This quote was taken from Michael Moore’s open letter to America and article entitled ‘Don’t Send Us Bottles of Water,’ “Many of you have contacted me wanting to know how you can help the people of Flint with the two-year long tragedy of drinking water contaminated by the radical decisions made by the Governor of Michigan. The offer is much appreciated by those who are suffering through this and who have not drank a glass of unpoisoned water since April of 2014. Unfortunately, the honest answer to your offer of help is, sadly, you can’t. You can’t help.” (par #1-3) While this quote may seem morbid, it shows the shear daily reality of the people living in Flint. People like Michael Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Pennsylvania's Representative Cartwright, CNN Elliot McLaughlin, Michigan’s Attorney General Bill Schette, myself, and countless others are using any resource available to ensure something like this never happens again. To give a little backstory, in April of 2014 the tap water of residents of Flint, Michigan was changed from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Immediately residents reported a bad smell, discolored water, and bad taste. Even before the switch, the Flint river had a reputation for being polluted and unsafe to drink or use. [Moved]The government reassured citizens on multiple occasions that the water was indeed safe to drink. The government, in agreeance with Governor Rick Snyder, did this to save money other than costlier yet safer options. Students from Virginia Tech performed a test that found the water to be corrosive with extremely high levels of lead. From then until now the residents of Flint have had more than just their water polluted; they have been poisoned by those in office who swore to protect them. Homes are beyond repair, children could be forever handicapped, and town that was already in poverty is left with nothing. The people of Flint, Michigan have had their entire lives, their basic human rights, ripped away and there is nothing we can do to change the damage that has been done.
We all have the basic human right to not be subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The people of Flint, Michigan were all poisoned by lead when their water was changed to the Flint River. Lead poisoning is a major contributing factor to the health problems. Some of the symptoms of lead poison in adults include but are not limited to: vomiting, irritability, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, hearing loss, miscarriage in woman., in the worst case death. Elliot C. McLaughlin reported via his article ‘5 things to know about Flint's water crisis ‘that, “Lead poisoning is dangerous for anyone -- the related woes include skin lesions, hair loss, vision loss, memory loss, depression and anxiety, according to a class-action lawsuit -- but Weaver seems equally worried about the future.” (par #22) This article goes on to explain the research that has been done on lead poisoning in children with some findings pointing to lower IQ and developmental delays. As parents, we strive to ensure our children’s safety, health, and happiness above all else. In one swift movement, the government has irreversibly changed these children at the core of their genetics, denying them the future they could have otherwise had. [Removed sentence and placed as topic sentence edited]
Under Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, found on the U.S. States Department website it states, “1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. 2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.” The damage has already been done to the pipes, that even now being back on Lake Huron water, the plumbing in homes and delivery pipelines are now irreversibly contaminated and damaged beyond repair. The cost to replace each homes plumbing entirely would cost thousands of dollars. The cost to replace the entire town would be in the hundreds of thousands if not millions. The values of the homes in Flint are now reduced to nothing, worthless. Who would want to buy a home that was damaged beyond repair? The answer is simple, no one in good conscious would buy a home that could poison them or their family. Just like that, the people of Flint have not only lost their basic human right to not only health, but now to own property.
Access to shelter or property that we use every day to survive were also taken away from house and home in Flint. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states “1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” State Attorney General Bill Schette is quoted in the article, ‘5 things to know about Flint's water crisis’ saying, "The situation in Flint is a human tragedy in which families are struggling with even the most basic parts of daily life." (par #10) The most basic parts of daily life, things you and I probably take for granted. Imagine for a moment: bathing, drinking, cooking, washing clothes anything and everything to do with water or plumbing in our homes; you now have to live without those or risk further poisoning. On top of that, the plumbing is contaminated, nation and worldwide people know of the crisis in your community so you are looked down on. You were already struggling but now you are displaced and people treat you differently. [Moved quote to reinforce topic sentence.] Age, sex, race, religion, no one was spared the horrors that are still ongoing today.
Mark Ruffalo wrote an article titled ‘Flint isn’t an anomaly. We’re heading toward a national water crisis’ and he states, “Flint must be a clarion call for a new era of routine water testing, full transparency and a commitment to ensuring that all citizens have safe drinking water. Renewed federal investment in our crumbling, lead-ridden drinking water systems is also necessary to help ensure that the tragedy taking place in Flint isn’t replicated elsewhere.” (par #13) His call to action can help future communities. Flint can’t be saved by any doctor, lawyer, or amount of money. Nothing will ever repair the irreversible damage done to the residents of Flint. What we can do is band together, create solid solutions, and choose more carefully those we choose to carry out these plans. Representative Cartwright says to Governor Snyder in the video ‘Rep. Cartwright: ‘I’ve had enough of your false contrition’, “People who put dollars over the fundamental safety of the people do not belong in government. And you need to resign too Governor Snyder.” Self-seeking people are a dime a dozen, we need to find those selfless ones that don’t want power. We need people who still have a conscious and see making the right decision more important than making dollar signs. After all, if even one person has to die for someone to profit, if even one person has to give up one human right; the risk is already too great. We are people, not price tags.
Bibliography
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‘I’ve had enough of your false contrition’." 17 March 2016. MSNBC.
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Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
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June 2014. Internet. 21 April 2016.
McLaughlin, Elliot C. "5 Things to Know About
FLint's Water Crsis." 21 January 2016. CNN Website. Internet,
Article. 21 April 2016.
Moore, Michael. "How Can You Help Flint? Do Not
Send Bottles of Water. Instead, Join us in a revolt. A letter to America from
Micheal Moore." 27 January 2016. A Micheal Moore Website.
Internet, Article. 21 April 2016.
Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public
Affairs, U.S. States Department. "Appendix A: Universal Declaration of
Human Rights." 10 December 1948. U.S. States Department Website.
Internet, Document. 21 April 2016.
Ruffalo, Mark. "Mark Ruffalo: Flint isn’t an
anomaly. We’re heading toward a national water crisis." 5 February 2016. The
Washington Post Website. Internet, Article. 21 April 2016.
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