DO NO HARM

I respect any man or woman who works at a profession whether it be a carpenter, plumber or even a farmer. Anyone who studies and works at an honest job deserves respect. That covers most people. But in doing your job you have to have respect for others. You cannot do something that harms others. Doctors have their hippocratic oath that guides them. Paramount in that oath is the edict to "Do no harm". We should all live by those words. Do our jobs but do no harm. Farmers are important as is everybody else. Without farms we would be hard pressed to feed ourselves. I make teeth, I'm a dental technician, and without dental technicians you wouldn't be able to eat the food the farmers grow. The point is that no one of us is any more important that any other. No one should be given special treatment, nor should anyone be hurt. We have a problem in Preble and it is caused by farming. Nitrates in the drinking water come from farming. It is time for farmers to own up to their responsibility to the community and their neighbors and correct this problem. It's been over two years now and it's getting worse. They are doing harm. They know who is responsible, they know what to do to fix it. It's time they did it.

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Sometime I have trouble getting to sleep. My mind wants to keep me awake by refusing to stop thinking about stuff. I try to fool it by trying to think of things that will be calming but events in Preble prevent me from doing it. I would like to think that if I knew I was doing something wrong that was hurting people I would stop. The farmers know what they are doing is hurting people. If they keep it up someone may die. How can they live with themselves knowing that? What do they tell their minds to think when they lay awake at night knowing they are causing harm? What do their families say to them? How can they face their kids or their grandkids when they know what they are doing is hurting them? I'm glad I'm not them, I could never do what they are doing. I just don't understand how you could knowingly hurt people and do nothing to stop it, indeed do everything to cover it up. Even those who are innocent of doing harm are guilty of covering it up. They all know what is going on. They all know who the guilty parties are. By saying nothing they are as guilty as those they cover for. What will they do if this gets so bad that a child dies from it? How will they live with themselves then?