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suzanne earley

You are here: Home / Blog / Other / Small mindedness

February 27, 2009

Small mindedness

Have you ever lived in a small town?  I’ve only lived in one for about 7 years now.  It’s a trip.  Like most things, it has its good points and its bad points.  For now, the good things outweigh the bad, so here we are.

For reference, when I talk about a small town, I’m talking about a town similar to the one I live in…our population is about 1600, city limits encompass 1 square mile, and the next closest towns are 5-10 miles away.  The next BIG town, with significant civilization, is about 30 miles away.

We aren’t a suburb, we don’t melt into another town.  We are surrounded by rolling acres of cropland — my husband grew up on a farm 6 miles south of town.  He left for school, and we lived in several other places in Iowa before we came back, so we could raise our family here, and eventually he’d like to work on the farm, though I don’t know if that will ever happen quite the way he’s already dreamed it would.

Many of the people that live here have lived here all of their lives, possibly in the same house they grew up in.  And the familial relationships are confusing at best — you have to be careful who you badmouth to whom, because you might be dissing a sister or cousin or whatever without even realizing it.

I don’t mean to imply that if you’ve never lived anywhere else, you can’t have an open mind and I know that small mindedness can exist anywhere, but there seems to be something special about small town small mindedness.  I’m also aware that I am just as guilty as the next person at exhibiting small mindedness on occasion, but I hope, for the most part, that I’m able to approach issues with an open mind, and I try very hard to make decisions based on facts, and not on my feelings about a person.

Our small town is voting on a local utility issue next Tuesday.  It’s actually a decision we thought we’d already made, but some of the more vocal opposition didn’t like the fact that the majority vote went against them, so they have managed to stir the pot and force this vote.  I’m still not clear on how that’s even possible, but here we are.

What frustrates me is that many people seem to be making their decisions based on their dislike of certain personalities, and based on things that happened 30 years ago, rather than on what might be best for our town.  I understand some of the objections to the issue at hand, I understand that it is risky, but you know what?  Getting out of bed is risky.  And it seems to me that making fear-based decisions are not what our town or even our country needs right now.  And I say that understanding our scary the economy is right now.  I’m a little bit afraid everyday — but if I let myself make decisions based on fear, I probably wouldn’t choose to get out of bed  most days.

I also think the argument that the system isn’t “broken” so we don’t need to fix it is flawed.  Just because we’ve always done something a certain way, doesn’t mean we SHOULD keep doing it that way. Tradition is important, but it shouldn’t be our only guide.

I don’t know how the vote is going to turn out next Tuesday.  I know how I’m voting, and I know that my choice is based on hope for the future: not fear and not past personal resentments.  I hope I can say the same about other decision about my life, and I hope you can, too.

Fiber content later.

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  1. Lynn Douglass says

    March 1, 2009 at 8:55 PM

    I grew up in a town of 800, so I know exactly what you’re talking about! I do remember the heated city council meetings that everyone would hear about! Oh, the drama! I do, however, sometimes wish I still lived in a small town.

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Instagram post 2198938382342605542_15732201 “In fact, since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection. Yet they were accomplished, somehow, all the same. “ Lois McMaster Bujold, Mirror Dance. #carvedecember #thepainteddiaries #suzanne_365
Instagram post 2198884817750437164_15732201 I was at a workshop yesterday and one of the first things the speaker said was “The smartest person in the room is the room.” That’s how  I view the community of artists I am part of here on IG and with @getmessyartjournal and @the_painted_diaries and @everythingartuk and the various other challenges I have taken part on this year — these are my “rooms” and I think we are all smarter because of those connections. Except for the part where I keep forgetting you have to reverse things when carving stamps. 🤪#carvedecember #suzanne_365 #suzannegetsmessy #getmessyartjournal
Instagram post 2198318837210935461_15732201 The prompt was the free writing — I used an inktenae pencil to journal about a decision that we are trying to make, scribbled in layers and in different directions. And then I spritzed it’s with too much water, so I blotted with a paper towel. And TBH, this is exactly what the decision making process looks like. #kasiasadventcalendar #suzannesadventjournal #getmessyartjournal #suzannegetsmessy
Instagram post 2198301357683863340_15732201 “Full moon today, Friday the 13th tomorrow, and the week before Winter Break next....” (words from a Facebook post yesterday...) #carvedecember #thepainteddiaries #suzanne_365
Instagram post 2197690835112539827_15732201 This was an experiment. My eyes were closed and I slowly moved the pencil across the page while I was breathing following a pattern.(I used my other hand to feel where the edges of the page were so that I didn’t fall off, so to speak). It was interesting. I might try something like this again, but with some modifications. #kasiasadventcalendar #suzannesadventjournal
Instagram post 2197579931381171115_15732201 Snowflake! I found this silly sticker at Michaels (60% off) and it made me giggle, so I bought it. Wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it, but decided that just sticking it on the page and writing around it was enough! #kasiasadventcalendar #suzannesadventjournal

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