in retrospect, this might have been a bit "loud" but I'm so very tired of the hate-mongering and bitching and rampant "nothing is ever good enough-holier than thou" thing that is endemic these days.
I would like to briefly respond to the recent uproar
by the same and consistent citizens over the smart meter controversy. I am not going to speak to the smart meter
matter specifically; as citizens, we should all be accountable to research this
matter ourselves if it is a concern, and not simply rely on the rantings of a
few malcontents who have nothing better to do than criticize our city employees
and city council, who, by the way are exceptionally educated people who DO have
the best interests of this city at heart.
My concern today is that these same hate-mongers who
continually rant about the smart meters seem to believe that they speak for the
nearly 26,000 people in just the city of Fountain alone (25,846 as of 2010
according to http://www.city-data.com/city/Fountain-Colorado.html). They seem
to think that their 1,100 signatures on a petition represents the other 25,000+
residents of the city of Fountain, though, I can’t actually recall any of those
people specifically talking to me about smart meters, or anything else. Their 1,100 signatures represents less than
4% of Fountain’s total population, as of 2010, which does not include the 5-7%
annual population increases expected each year between 2010 and 2014. The bottom line is, however passionate you
are about your issue, you DO NOT represent all, or even the majority of
Fountain voices.
City employees and city council often must make
decisions that the rest of us are opposed to, knowing that we, the public,
often do not have all the facts. Putting
this in perspective, the supposed “public outcry” to ban smart meters was by
less than 4% of Fountain’s residents, and, therefore, warrants only that the
city decision-makers and city council hear what they have to say, which is
important, since there may be information that has not previously surfaced.
But, make no mistake, this city council decision and the decision of our city
decision-makers DOES represent the MAJORITY of the people, since the majority
of the people, who have had opportunity to learn about smart meters, have
chosen not to voice any opposition to this endeavor.
That said, given the health concerns, I do think
that this matter warrants further investigation by city officials, who should
do everything in their power to ensure that this technology will not cause
harm, and to find alternatives for those who need alternatives based on health
needs.
Rev. Renee L. Ten Eyck
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