Know Your Class War: The Curse of the (Water) Drinking Class

Human bodies are something like 60-70 percent water.  We need it to live. It's a basic component of our survival, and access to proper water and sewerage systems is credited with the expansion of the human lifespan in the 20th century, or in any event, we should understand that poor sanitation and water access are not conducive to life--full stop.

Which is why I see water usage as a definite class war issue--for example, did you know that while Detroit is cutting off water to poorer citizens who can not pay their bills--business that are skating on their water bills are spared?

I find that damn interesting.

Not unlike the ability of Duke Energy to walk away from its responsibility to the people of North Carolina whose water was fouled, or the bloody paltry fine that Freedom Industries paid for fouling the water of West Virginia--it seems like a real double-standard exists when it comes to who we think should have use of water, as if it were a privilege or a luxury, and not a right for the survival of beings that depend upon it.

This is why the draining of aquifers in the mid-and southwest for use in farming and fracking and whatever else even as droughts are raging doesn't really shock me. Water is seen, not as essential to life, but as a commodity having a price tag. And if you can't afford the price, well, you can be thirsty. (Now, I'm not saying food production isn't essential--but let's be honest, there is a lot to be said for smaller-scale sustainable practices and more reliance on local food sourcing. Modern farming processes can spoil and waste tons of water. )

Since water is actually essential to human life, does that mean life is viewed as a privilege, not a right?  I do sorely wonder.