Paula Kaufman: Dignity is an essential public investment (Opinion)

Remoteness engenders beauty, but also, challenges. For instance, food deserts with Dollar General oases are too common. They can be cause for celebration in rural places. They also exploit isolation, leaving customers with limited options at often twice the cost of a larger grocery store.

Libraries: The center of many rural W.Va. communities

There are five libraries in Pocahontas County. Impressive. The librarian I spoke with — who is also director, janitor and volunteer coordinator — doesn’t get health insurance with her job. She should.

After school, the library is a happening place. Kids spill in and open books or watch movies. They craft. There are adult evening programs. In some parts of West Virginia, libraries are not a bonus — they are the activity, the social center, the lifeline for kids. This isn’t Charleston.

And public schools are critical to the community. They provide countless jobs. They're essential and foundational to the community.

“Schools don’t just teach how to read,” says the librarian. “They offer skills on socializing, diverse perspectives, sometimes the most fortifying meals kids get. Wellness checks. Dental care.”

A “thorough and efficient education” is expected to be provided by the state, according to our constitution. We need to design schools worthy of our children.

Public systems fund dignity, not for some,  but for all. The better they are funded, the higher the wellness and happiness of a community. 

Religious zealots abound. They shove dogma into public spaces. Some parents gripe about Harry Potter. Heaven forbid children read a story about a witch or a wizard.

“The old librarian removed books because of Christian fundamentalism,” said the new librarian.

Now the books stay put. Thank goodness.

The librarian has no agenda. No political angle. Her mission is simple: Stock shelves. Keep vision wide and creativity flowing. As an extra act of care, she opened a small “blessing box” beside the library for canned food. Someone complained. That did not dissuade her.

She stewards the county’s memory — genealogy records, self-published histories, family photographs, yearbooks, archives. She shepherds its future. She is one of many bright spots glittering around the state. Amongst the night sky, there are a million stars.

But gosh, the inequity astounds. If you don’t understand the poverty veining our region, step outside your city and find out.

According to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the report, “Watered Down Justice,” ranked 36 of the state’s 55 counties as having the worst clean water violations in the country.

It would cost billions of dollars to create proper infrastructure for the whole state. But we must do it. It’s what the government owes people. Dignity is a public investment. Investing in public systems means investing in all human potential.

Poisoned water in southern coalfields, dismantling public schools, attacking clinics and maternity care — it’s inexcusable. People deserve potable water.

I would choose librarians to run things

Libraries do it right. They serve all. The kid without a coat. The lady who looks the other way. They stand in the same line. That’s dignity. Equal access.

Privatization is not the way. Our scam of a health care system is what privatization looks like without guardrails. It's a deadly, cautionary tale. Take heed.

Who cares about our state long-term? Not national leaders, and rarely state representatives. They're sheep. We hollow ourselves from within.

I’d choose this librarian to be our governor.

She’s a single mom who drives half an hour to work — closer than the hour-plus commute many people around here face, if they can find work at all. She’s dependable, resilient and bright.

And she understands the Constitution.

That knowledge matters.

Wake up, West Virginia. Dignity is our most prosperous investment.