Rural Iowa Ain't Perfect

Here is another assignment for my journalism class. This is the first column I've really witten. I'm more of a "news" and "feature" junky, so don't judge me too harshly. At first, I was quite content with it because I thought I really "stuck it to the man" and took a strong position. When I got it back from my professor, though, I realized that I probably generalized and stereotyped rural Iowa in a rather offensive way. I changed a few things from the original article, but it's still fairly harsh towards the Midwest. I apologize if I offend. Enjoy (or not)! (Don't ask me why the spacing is messed up...I can't figure it out.) 

Northwest Iowa: characterized by rolling cornfields, old-fashioned churches on every corner, and “mom and pop shops” run by, well, mom and pop.

Lately, though, this isn’t all it is known for. There is a secret, darker side to this region of Iowa; one that its citizens do not speak of.

Recently, I was having a discussion with some friends about suicide and divorce in Sioux County. A Northwest Iowa native in the group mentioned something he called “Sioux County Syndrome.” My curiosity got the best of me as I made him explain.

“People here don’t talk about their problems,” he said.

Another woman sarcastically interjected with, “but Sioux County is perfect.”

At least, this is what they tell themselves and have been telling themselves for years. The residents of this charming community don’t want their neighbors to know that they are susceptible to problems; especially emotional ones.

Let’s be honest, how would it look if Farmer Brown rolled up to the Co-op with mud on his tires and manure on his boots, muttering, “I’ve been depressed lately. Any of you guys know a good counselor I could talk to?”

The combination just doesn’t seem to fit. It's probably rare for “the guys” to make reference to their emotions. Out on the farm, emotions come in the form of an Alan Jackson love song or a cuss word. Anything more is gettin’ too sentimental. 

Speaking of love, Sioux County actually appeared in the New York Times recently, but it was nothing to brag about. The article was titled “Once Rare in Rural America, Divorce Is Changing the Face of Its Families.”

The article talks about how the divorce rate in Sioux County is much higher than it was in the 1980s. It says that in 1980, there were 52 married people for every divorced person, but now there are only 14 married people for every divorced person. Some might ask the question, “Well, isn’t the divorce rate going up everywhere?” 

An article from getreligion.org responded to the New York Times by saying that “this county boasts a divorce rate that is one-third the national average.” The author claims that the Times article presents misleading statistical data. 

This may be true, but the fact that divorce is still on the rise and has tripled in 30 years says something about Sioux County, whether its residents want to accept it or not. There is an obvious change occurring within the people of this community, but what is at the core of it?

Let’s dig a little deeper.

According to an article in The Daily Iowan, suicide rates in rural counties of Iowa are much higher than in the urban counties. 

As stated in The Daily Iowan, “In 2008 alone, the rate for rural counties was 13.55 — the highest the average in Iowa has been since 2000 — and it was 11.46 in urban counties. Numbers have steadily increased in Johnson County, too, jumping from 19 in 2008 to 39 in 2009. County Medical Examiner Mike Hensch said he has noticed an increase in depression-related suicide.”

These figures might not sound significant comparatively, but for quaint, farm communities, it is a lot. 

When someone commits suicide in a town that only has a couple thousand residents, everyone knows about it, and there’s a good chance most of the community personally knew that person. It automatically becomes a big deal and can affect the community as a whole. 

So now we go back to the question of “why?” Why is this happening more in rural Iowa? Isn’t the “simple life” supposed to be free of brokenness, depression, and sadness? 

Well, the truth is, there is not an inch in this world free of such things. No matter how hard people try to cut themselves off from evil, it finds its way in every time. Humanity is funny like that. 

Utopias do not and cannot exist in this world. Pointing fingers at these rural communities for finally “coming out of the closet” and joining in with the rest of us in our broken, wicked states, only points three fingers back at ourselves. 

The fact is, rural communities are no different. They get divorced; they commit suicide; they cheat on their spouse; they get pregnant out of wedlock. They are fallen humans, just like the rest of the world.