A wonderful woman I know well lost her son to a drug overdose several years ago. I had watched him grow into a handsome and charismatic young man; his death was shocking and, as one could imagine, devastated his mother. Like many other parents of kids lost to opioids, she has assuaged her grief by jumping head-long into support activities, creating a group that meets on a regular basis to confront the opioid epidemic’s ruinous reach into families, and advocate for education and understanding of the disease that is addiction. Of course, she uses social media, primarily Facebook, to spread her message, detail her activities, and otherwise bestow the wisdom her personal experience has taught her. Like so many others in her situation, she clearly finds it personally therapeutic to both help prevent others from suffering her heartbreak, as well as aid those in the throes of similar tribulations endure the plight she now knows all too well. Oh, and like an overwhelming majority of West Virginia voters, she strongly supports the President.
On March 23, 2017 the Admiral Processing Plant in Boone County, W.Va., leaked more than 5000 gallons of coal slurry into Crooked Run, a tributary of the Coal River. The spill happened upstream from several municipal water intake systems, potentially poisoning drinking water for Lincoln County residents. Yet another spill occurred a week later during cleanup operations, the result of a pump that failed moving contaminated water. Water samples taken at the site came back showing maximum toxicity. Black Castle Mining Company, responsible for the spill, was issued a “notice of violation” by the WVA Department of Environmental Protection, which no doubt had Black Castle executives shaking in their suspenders. And while area water treatment officials maintained tests on tap water returned “in line with normal values,” it’s a sure bet bottled water sales in affected areas will remain high for more than the foreseeable future. How many Lincoln County residents will now or eventually become fierce and committed defenders of the environment as a result of their Erin Brockovich moment is unclear, but it’s likely safe to say few still ignore the issue of relaxing coal slurry regulations, a Trump EPA priority.
One word is ever found amidst the bromides and true substance alike of our chaotic national political discussion… freedom. It populates most every campaign speech, punctuates endless comment sections, and generally begins and ends the assessments of where things stand, how far things have deteriorated, and what we should aspire to. The concept of freedom is ubiquitous to our national identity. But for my money what most Americans place at the top of the list concerning how freedom should define their existence reflects nothing more than the ambitions of citizens residing in autocracies, with no pretense regarding the concept at all – the freedom to remain blissfully oblivious!
Nihilism won out in 2016 and we pay the price for its victory every hour. That we suffer a President more notable for unprecedented tirades and narcissistic preoccupation speaks to the utter indifference of the electorate he won over with a campaign focused on nothing more than reversing a laundry list of grievances tied to his predecessor, who earned the disdain of millions more for his skin tone than anything substantive he pursued while in office.
Community relies on acceptance that actions and policies have consequences everybody shares in. The idea that certain groups have it coming to them, or somehow act in ways deserving of special disdain for what are supposed to be uniform rights and protections requires purposeful ignorance, a willful desire not to pay attention to events one has convinced themself can’t apply to their situation.
Figuring it’s not possible that you or yours could ever live down river from a coal slurry spill, so hearing Trump soulessly attack responsible environmental safeguards as “job killing” regulations on the campaign trail doesn’t register or even resonates with you, requires a level of willful ignorance fully at odds with the minimum requisites of democracy. It’s an abdication of civic responsibility, capable of tolerating our worst, which we are.
For decades heroin addiction and fatal overdoses were the stuff to justify “a war on drugs” and mass incarceration of inner city minorities, not to provide resources for education and addiction recovery. Why? An easy question with obvious answers. But now “our” kids are dying and the issue’s suddenly far more complicated, more heartbreaking, something worthy of involvement. Gun violence. Climate Change. Even healthcare. All seem increasingly relevant and harder to ignore. The price of pretending the world effects only those we don’t need to worry about carries a steeper price tag than once thought. The world eventually knocks on all of our doors.
Trump’s approval rating in West Virginia in October was 58 %, among the highest of any state in the nation. Of course West Virginia is a coal mining state, but that industry continues its decline as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, and easy to mine veins have been exhausted. In fact, since 1990 coal jobs provide a sliver of West Virginia occupations, exponentially outpaced by government and healthcare employment, two top targets of Trump grievance.
And while West Virginia is still ranked at the bottom of the nation as a state to do business in, it has consistently led the country in one category since 2015…. the rate of opioid overdoses. Most all agree the the Trump Administration’s response to the opioid crisis has been worse than sluggish. “Lack of leadership” is the phrase most often heard to describe Trump’s performance.
Such criticism is restrained compared to common views of the President’s role on the environment. Forget about Scott Pruitt, Trump’s scandal-ridden choice to lead the EPA, who he still defends even after he was run out of DC on a rail, there is not a meaningful clean water or air protection on the books that is not in this Administration’s crosshairs. Surprise! West Virginia, though relatively sparsely populated, ranks 6th in the nation for dirtiest air and water.
Trump enjoyed holding rallies throughout West Virginia in the run up to this year’s mid-terms. Defeating blue dog Democratic Senator Joe Manchin became a top priority for the President. Aside from gratuitous exclamations about “rescuing” the coal industry, no talking point received more raucous applause than Trump’s border wall. Indeed, he could barely even start in on the issue before being interrupted by prolonged “build that wall” chants from his country roads faithful. Meanwhile, West Virginia ranks 48th in the nation in Hispanic population. Less than 1 % of the state’s residents are immigrants from Mexico or Central America….. go figure.
The crisis of US politics is said to be in large part the result of too many citizens believing government does not reflect their priorities. But what exactly are those concerns? Looking at West Virginia, and the politicians its voters prefer, one would be forgiven for simply scratching their head and professing to not have a clue what the hell is going on. Or maybe assuming rationality by parsing objective facts and figures is a dead end. Maybe intangible emotions rule the day. Maybe narratives created out of thin air by failed djs and hucksters selling gold shares and lifelock subscriptions tell the true tale. Either way, the many benefits freedom is meant to bestow don’t seem to be enhancing the daily routines of West Virginians very much. Yet and still, they are free to continue to ignore that unfortunate fact, perhaps while heading to the Walmart for another case of Poland Spring. BC