Chris Chapman
This article is my first official “opinion” piece. I’m not a big fan of opinion and news mixed together. It feels wrong in some way, shape, or form. I know it’s labeled as such, but I wanted to avoid it. I didn’t want to taint the news with my belief system or mindset. But here we are, and at the end of the day, the news is factual and true; this is just a piece of me, so feel free to turn the page anytime.
I was compelled to write this after spending too much time on social media, which is the worst idea ever. I was mostly consuming complaints about the drawdown and water quality. I came across a video that was shining light on the issue in an odd way. One of the comments made on the video referenced Sweet Home being the new Flint, Michigan. While I get the sincerity, the sensationalism and the implication that was there was just unnecessary and, honestly, offensive.
The idea that, in some way, our city officials neglected to perform their duties and, by doing so, have left the city water undrinkable by any standard, leading to the poisoning of the community. To me, that seems so off-base. Now that’s not to say there aren’t issues; there are. But from what I see, they seem to be doing a stand-up job. Worst case scenario has been minor turbidity and higher chlorine levels that fall within the acceptable standard range for drinking water. And while, for some, it’s been a bit much and has apparently caused some issues with skin irritation and pet sickness – which we are looking into – overall it’s not Flint, Michigan.
Now, I write this knowing that we will conduct our own independent water tests in the next day or so. We don’t speculate that the city is lying, but getting a “second opinion” in this case is important. We had planned on doing it earlier, but the lab we had contacted at the beginning of this situation decided to ghost us randomly. However, we found a new lab with an office of scientists or, as I refer to them, “total water nerds,” with whom we have had multiple hour-long conversations about water. It’s been eye-opening, educational, and pretty rad because I am a nerd, and that stuff interests me.
But the point here is that I am writing this knowing I don’t have my own evidence in front of me. I am trusting in the transparency of the city. It should be understood that a part of that transparency is that I know the city doesn’t have its own “lab” to test water. They take samples and send them to a third-party lab for testing. Given the information of the “water nerd collective,” I’ve been informed, “there ain’t no way a lab will risk their credentials for a city.” Now, if we come back with some crazy stuff in the water, I’ll admonish myself, and the next opinion piece will be in the same paper as the one condemning the city. But I don’t really see that happening.
Getting back to the original point in all of this. A comparison made by a trusted source can have implications and impact the situation in a very positive or a very negative way. We ourselves have learned that again most recently, but that is a story for another time. In reality, any person or company who reports the news should keep their personal agenda off the table and provide fact-based truth that is not sensationalized, thus allowing readers and viewers the opportunity to make up their own minds.
And yes, I get the irony that I am complaining about someone’s opinion in the news while writing an opinion in the news. But I labeled it as such and gave ample warning. So, I’m off the hook!
This leads me to another point, and yes, I know I am going on and on and on, but I have the space available; it’s kind of a slow week, so I am going to take the opportunity to crap in everyone’s kitchen. Well, mostly in the kitchen of those who don’t seek the news, print or digital. Not those who do read some form of news and understand the importance of seeking knowledge. I digress; two things became abundantly clear while perusing the interwebs of Sweet Home. One is a short and simple complaint. If you choose not to participate in your community, you choose not to seek out information that is READILY available to you through multiple sources. And you choose to blame someone else or an organization, casting them down as though they did nothing in the way of providing you with information. I believe you should look in the mirror and evaluate your own contribution.
The other is to check your source. And by that, I mean if you read something that seems crazy, verify that information. Do so from a reliable source. Also, consider the prospect of what is being said and look at it from a different perspective.
I’ll give you an example based on what I brought up earlier. The city somehow manipulated water tests, thus turning Sweet Home into Flint. What would the city gain, and what would the city lose? Well, they would gain a massive class action lawsuit and would lose a metric crap ton of taxpayer money. This clearly isn’t in the best interest of the city. In fact, the city would be in a much better position legally if the water was full of lead or mercury from the drawdown. They would very much be in a better position to make the water issue very public, staving off lawsuits against them and putting them in a very, very good position to acquire 15 new water plants courtesy of the USACE.
Pretend you are the person in charge, look at it from their perspective, and more often than not, you will find yourself somewhere close to the truth. I get why it’s easy to see a conspiracy in things. In some cases, it may be, it’s why we exist, to look at things and investigate them. But also, I don’t think this is that. I think the city has worked hard dealing with a muddy situation and they deserve some credit for their willingness to be transparent and to inform. Maybe not for their unwillingness to take questions at a town hall. Although they didn’t really say they were going to, not sure where people got that idea? Might need to check the source.