The state of Michigan resides near it’s namesake lake toward the north of the United States. As of two years ago, Michigan made the news. Not for something good, but rather a crisis. The small town of Flint, Michigan’s had a encountered a problem, their entire water source became unfit for drinking. Nobody in the town is able to bathe, drink, or use any of the water directed to the town because of its pipes but, this was three years ago…and it’s still like this. As undergoing a new president with skewed morals and beliefs to spend money on a pipeline and barricade between countries, the United States faces the question of is it right to let it’s own people live without the basic necessity of water? Is this morally just?

With 41.2% of it’s residents living at or below the poverty line, many of Flint’s inhabitants are thoroughly affected by the lack of water provided to the town. Unfortunately, the town cannot claim itself in a state of disaster as of January 2016 according to CNN, former President Barack Obama gave them five million dollars in aid rather than giving money to repair all pipes within the town. Not long after this the town filed lawsuit against the state of Michigan on the grounds of it allegedly going against the Safe Water Drinking Act. Yet, this was only the beginning. As battles between the local government and the people soared with allegations and accusations flying left and right, the people of Flint remain without clean water. If you haven’t seen it yet, there have been moves to construct the Keystone XL Pipeline as well as the Dakota Access Pipeline which will transfer oil down the Midwest of America and the most bigoted formation of all is the building of the wall separating the U.S. from Mexico is a little more or less ironic. After repeatedly claiming that the U.S. does not have a lot of money due to our national debt it’s funny to see how we as a nation can afford to fund these lofty ideas before replacing the necessary pipes for the people of Flint, Michigan. As you can see the water and oil don’t mix because oil just sits on top of water just like how, the oil business trumps the need for water. So, in the end are we as a nation overlooking what is right for what is wanted?