On the recordFebruary 2, 2016
I will. I read this. It came from a writer from Detroit, a guy named Mitch Albom, who most people know for having written a bestseller, ``Tuesdays with Morrie.'' He came to Flint to interview children and to talk about what this whole experience meant to them. One young man said something which, in a very poignant way, in a really eloquent way, describes what exactly happened in Flint. The little boy said that he was afraid that he wouldn't be smart now, that he wouldn't be smart. It just occurred to me what a terrible crime this is, the failure of adults to manage the government in a way that takes the concerns of the life of a child into account and looks only at a balance sheet, only at a quarterly earnings statement--maybe the longest term that they look at it is an annual financial report--and wouldn't consider the fact that the result would be to have a young 8- or 9-year-old boy say to himself, ``I am afraid I won't be smart.'' What does that do to that kid's hopes for himself, whether the cognitive, behavioral, or developmental impact of lead would have any substantial effect on him or her, kids that are in Flint? The fact that the lack of action by the government gives them doubt about their own future, doubt about their own capacity is just heartbreaking.
