Or should I ask – which “them” are you one of?

I hear it constantly when talking around the water cooler; all our problems are due to “them”.  I hear it constantly when having coffee; the issues of dealing with “them”.  TV; same.  Radio; same. Newspapers; same. Internet; same.

Dispense with the facts: we only deal with emotions here, the better to manipulate you with.  “OMG! Think of the children!” or some variation on that theme.  Sort of how the Flint “water crisis” is dealt with-seems all the reports are on how the children are being affected by the lead in the water, and how (insert political party you dislike) don’t care.

Why is no one looking at the obvious? It isn’t the water that’s the problem-it’s the lead pipes the water runs through. Do you live in a home built before 1950?  You probably have a lead water line leading to your house. If you have old copper water lines, they may have been put together using lead-based solder (now banned). Most cities use a phosphate based treatment that keeps the lead from leaching out into the water-something Flint stopped doing during their financial crisis.  Still, most cities are working at identifying and replacing the lead water lines that still exist within the city-if your city isn’t, I’d be pounding on the city hall doors until the issue is addressed!

OK, soap box gets put away for now. Fair warning-I drag my soap box everywhere, and it’s on a short leash.

Back to “them”. If your kids and the neighbor kids are all playing in your yard on a bright sunny Saturday, and your kids run inside asking for something to drink, aren’t you going to offer something to the neighbor kids too?  If you bring out cookies or a snack,  aren’t you going to bring out something for all the kids? Then why, when we talk over coffee, are you saying you’re storing food for your family and ammunition for those that don’t have anything? Sorry-kind of harsh, but I have had those conversations.

“Them”. What an easy word to use.  Put some thought to it, and use the words that identify the group or persons you have a beef with. At least, you’ll be able to identify the actions that are causing you to get your “knickers in a knot”. Who knows-both of you might be working to solve the same problem, and don’t know it. Or-probably more likely-you’ll  have a disagreement that both parties understand.

Identifying the Good and True,

Billy Acre