Remember that scenario from the first in the series of Batman remakes, when a pre-Hillary Jack Nicholson nearly killed the population of Gotham by poisoning the water? And remember just a few years ago, when the U.S. government used the same trickery to make its citizens believe that those evil Muslims would kill us all by polluting our water with toxic chemicals? The irony of the situation is that we've been the Joker all the while--not to discredit our politicians, of course.
A CNN health report recently revealed the results of a five-month AP study regarding the levels of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water. They found 56 different drugs in the taps of roughly 41 million American homes. Granted, the quantities of each drug are far below medical dose, yet this does nothing to quiet the fact that they are in there in the first place, and that the long-term effects of this are not known.
Talk about the case for being what you eat: Drugs enter our body through our mouths, propelled by the minds that insist we need them. In some cases, we certainly do; in many others, they are superfluous. According to the article, there were 3.7 billion drug prescriptions written over the past five years, to coincide with the 3.3 billion non-prescription drug treatments. Put that into perspective. In a nation of 301 million people, there have been 7 billion drug treatments used in a half-decade. And this says nothing about the majority of antibiotics, which are used on livestock, and also travel the same path back to our streams, lakes and aquifers.
Members of pharmaceutical companies say that the amount of drugs found are so minute that there are not to be considered a health concern. Well what would you expect them to say? This reminds me of FDA regulators, who now pass many of the "safety" and "quality" tests concerning the raising of livestock and growing of vegetables to the corporations doing the growing. They send them a checklist, force them to post a sign that's akin to the "Employees Must Wash Hands" billboards in restaurant bathrooms, and certify them healthy if they say so. Of course, drug companies don't even have to go that far--the government currently has NO regulations regarding the amount of pharmaceuticals in our water.
Then again, how could they? That would require them to peer into our private lives, which would cause us to take more Xanax to combat the fears of Big Brother. Of course the question of why we are consuming so many pills is not addressed. The idea that perhaps we don't need these absurd amounts of "medication" will not be entertained by the government or pharmaceutical companies, for if there is anything essential to our economy, it is that. Currently one of every seven American dollars is spent on healthcare as it is. And since water filtration companies are not held accountable for these "trace" amounts, they will do nothing but take the word of the drug companies at face value.
True, this is a new revelation on a widespread phenomenon. We can only hope it is taken seriously, by our citizenry even more than our leaders. If there was ever a clear example of the interconnectedness of all life, it is in the very essence of what we are comprised: water. It again goes to show that we cannot confine ourselves as individuals and feel victimized by the ways of the world. We are a product of the world, and for us to work together it requires we all stand up for the responsibility of our actions. We need to remember what we put inside of us will also leave us and affect others, from the foods we eat to the media we believe, right down to the drugs we think end when they enter our bloodstream.
Of course, something more groundbreaking happened this week. It was learned that a man in power was buying the services of a prostitute. Very new news. Knowing how our media operates and where national attention focuses, this "lesser" story about water is certain to be pushed to the "Ain't That Quaint" section before it fades into obscurity. Obviously there are more pressing issues at hand.