The World As We See It

I recently finished the book Methland by Nick Reding (thanks Brad) and have several observations and comments to make.

First, I was in shock and awe over what he described was going on in Oelwein. And whether you believe it all or not, even a portion of it being true is truly shocking to me. I was obviously naive in what I thought was going on in my hometown, and I suspect many other Oelwein residents (including my parents, in-laws, and grandparents) were as well. It led me to think about each of our individual perspectives and viewpoints, and how clouded and different they can be regarding just about anything.

Oelwein is a great example. Is it a quiet small town transitioning to a retirement community, a community seeking to get it's groove back, or a town living in large pools of unemployment, poverty and drugs? Hmmm? Guess it could be all of these ... depending of course on your perspective. That's my point in writing this entry into our blog.

I have a perspective, and a viewpoint that develops initially from what I see, hear and observe via my life. That viewpoint is then adapted and altered by others with whom I connect and communicate. To the extent their viewpoint isn't that much different, our collective perspective is quite narrow, even myopic. It pays to have a broader perspective and that can only be gained by gathering viewpoints and opinions from others who have very different viewpoints than ourselves.

As brothers we have grown apart in many ways. Where we live, the differences in our families, the professions we've taken. But our perspectives on many things are unchanged. What we experienced growing up was very similar, and from that our perspectives about things of the past really aren't that different. Oelwein is a perfect example. I believe I can say that all of us saw Oelwein differently than what was described to us in the book, Methland.

But seeing it from a different perspective, even if that perspective isn't entirely accurate, allows us to learn from what the author did see, and broaden our perspectives and views of the place we all are proud to call our hometown. Ah, the memories come flying back, "back where I come from"!