Hating on the government, but welcoming the services

A story before my meme...

For those of you not from a rural area, some of us get our water from wells.  Sometimes those wells are good, sometimes they can be contaminated with sulfur, silt, iron or dozens of other naturally occurring sediments. It's the luck of the draw as to what type of well you get when you drill into the aquifer.  This can cause the need for expensive filtration, or even a well that produces un-drinkable water. Sometimes, the wells can go dry pretty easily. Not everyone has good water. (Note: Our well is crystal clear and we've never gone dry.)

Such is the case in the area near where I live, which is rather ironic, since just about 30 miles north-west of us is one of the largest chains of lakes in the world. Bazillions of gallons of water. And several municipalities in the area have huge underground water pipes that pass right through our community, transporting water from the Great Lakes to their cities.

And so, periodically, some of those with poor wells petition the local government to form a water district that would have us tap into those big water lines  to provide municipal water for the homes in our area. The cost of doing this is NOT inconsequential. Some of our rural poor really can't afford this, especially if they are lucky enough to have a good well. I understand their lament.

Today was a day to vote on a proposed water district in our area, what with a previous attempt to do this last held about 3 years ago. New grants were available, bringing the cost down a little bit since the last vote. Prior to today's vote, opponents had sent out letters and posted letters-to-the-editor in local papers full of lies and distortions. It's sad, but they probably don't really understand the process and the finances (not the brightest stars in the sky), so they just made shit up.

So I'm standing in line to vote, and this redneck in line directly behind me decides it's time to electioneer.

"I'm votin' no on this damn thing!" he declares quite loudly. No response.

"It's the second time I've had to come down here to vote - seems like they couldn't take no for an answer the first time!" Again, loudly, to the roughly 25 people in line.

At last a response - from somewhere further back in line. "Just like the fuckin' schools. If they don't get approval the first time, they keep votin' on it 'til they get the answer they want!"

This really excites the guy behind me, so he dances out of line to stand directly beside me, stares me in the eye, and says, "Just like those stinkin' Democrats - they want to take all your money to give it to other people."

Now the vote for the water district was NOT a political party vote - it was people who need water versus people who don't want to pay for the project. But this jerk had an audience.

I looked back into this guys eyes and said, "That's the way we like to do it."

He now started dancing back and forth between me and the guy behind him ranting and raving about spending other people's money. I couldn't keep track of any more of his selfish, hate-filled rant and just ignored him.

But I came away thinking that with these rednecks (yes, we have them in the northeast), it's always unjust spending if it's not being spent on them. There's just a strong lack of any sense of community with these short-sighted individuals, and it's all about the selfishness. It's like dealing with a 3-year-old, what's his is his, and what's yours is his.

Crap.