William Olsen, Period 7, 1/11/22

 Socio-political Consciousness  

Recently I read the book “What the Eyes Don’t See”, a first-hand account of the Flint Water Crisis written by a pediatrician who played a crucial role in fixing the environmental disaster. I had heard about the water issues in Flint, but I had never done any research or heard any specifics about them. The author, Mona Hanna-Attisha, perfectly describes how the government not only failed to do their duties in keeping the public safe, but also how they blatantly ignored the issues right in front of their faces in order to avoid scrutiny. Although there is some sort of notion in all of us that the government is not completely trustworthy and maybe even corrupt, you still believe that they exist to protect our health and freedom. On another level, I hold an understanding that inequality and oppression are still prevalent in our society, but reading about such blatant and such widespread systematic racism occur in the modern day is still very shocking. Dr. Hanna discovered extremely elevated blood lead levels among her patients, who were children in Flint, Michigan, a predominantly African American and economically disparaged city. She teamed up with experts in clean water practices and environmental activists to present the government with their findings and the life-long devastating effects on children with even small amounts of lead found in their blood. However, all the bureaucrats and government officials did was deny that there were any issues with the water or report that it was not their jurisdiction. It took around two years for the government to finally start implementing measures to clean the water, only after immense public outrage and a few government agents who were finally willing to admit that there was an actual issue. But it was too late, thousands of children had already been contaminated with lead, which has been linked to a number of lifelong developmental problems. It is now clear to me that the public needs to hold their government accountable because they will put their own needs and agenda in front of the needs of their people if given the chance. Systemic racism is clearly still a major issue in our nation, and people need to acknowledge that, because without the public advocating for change, change will not happen.

I reflect on my own beliefs and values by researching and reading about issues and events from multiple sources and perspectives. It is important to hear all opinions so you are able to accurately formulate your own opinion. I also consider my own biases when thinking about my values in order to recognize why I think them. It is important to be open to change in your own beliefs if information is presented to you that may change them. Nowadays there exists more of a divide than ever in modern history, and it is necessary to recognize that. Hostility between these sides, especially over the internet, is very prevalent. I think that is important that we don’t allow this to happen, as judging someone over having different beliefs than you(of course there is are exceptions) only succeeds in creating needless animosity and more of a divide. Recognizing these principles and that we are all human beings can help us to shrink the divide splitting our nation.