You’ve probably landed here because you’ve watched the data center debate blow up in your own backyard, or scrolled past it in the national news for the tenth (hundredth?!) time this month. It’s everywhere, and tempers run hot on both sides.

But as per usual, I think we’re asking the wrong question.

Data center fights have been happening at the local and state level for years. The reality is that at least a dozen data centers already exist in the Nashville area alone, and two more have been proposed as of the writing of this piece. 

Recently, they’ve escalated into national politics, and — surprise, surprise — that’s made the local conversations harder, not easier. So let’s level-set here: this isn’t a YIMBY (yes in my backyard) vs. NIMBY (not in my backyard) fight. It’s not big “P” politics, either. What if none of that is actually relevant? What if we’re arguing about the wrong problem entirely?

Here’s the reframe I’m offering: Data centers aren’t the problem. They’re the pressure test. There isn’t a community in this country that isn’t already dealing with the cost and reliability of its water and electricity. Full stop. And I’d argue that the data centers didn’t create that fight. They just turned the volume up on an important discussion we’ve been avoiding all along.

A Find It, Fix It, Build It mindset exists for exactly this moment. Let’s envision what that could look like with the data center debate.

Find it: the real issue isn’t a server farm moving into town. It’s infrastructure that was underfunded and overdue for reinvestment long before anyone broke ground. It’s just the bright & shiny object of the moment because a helluva lot of money is involved now.

Fix it: stop debating whether data centers belong here and start having the harder conversation — how do we actually deliver power and water at scale, and what financial model pays for it? That is the solution that will serve local communities for generations to come.

Build it: leaders who use this moment to solve the real problem come out ahead of the ones still yelling at the thing in front of them. And look, I get it. Viewpoints that sit squarely in the messy middle and try to solve *real problems* sustainably isn’t exactly sexy. But I’d argue it’s exactly the kind of leadership we need right now.

I’ve stood in a similar fight before. A few years back, I got pulled into a project in Peoria, Illinois, on what everyone called a sewer overflow problem. It wasn’t, though. It was a trust and infrastructure problem wearing a sewer problem’s clothes — and the fix looked nothing like what anyone expected going in. It ultimately looked like turning a short-term problem into a legacy solution.

So back to the data centers. The reality is that they likely aren’t going anywhere. And I think the real question isn’t whether we want them — it’s whether we use this fight to finally fix what’s underneath, or keep pointing at the boogeyman while the pipes rust.

I know which one I’d bet on figuring out.