BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
Point of view has a broader meaning than what it appears. It is a person’s power of seeing or looking at something. The mental estimate of something is considered a point of view. The purpose of why we do a certain thing; our plans, intensions and opinions, well express what our point of view is all about.
Point of view from age perspective
Chronologically, the age of any person determines the substance of his point of view regarding anything. Children, owing to their innocence, yield to things that allure their attention easily. To them, the surface value is always true and they often fail to discern what lies behind the screen. They incline to believe every idea that they hold in their mind about a certain things they encounter.
After all, innocence is belief and experience is doubt. A young man and an elderly person, view the same thing from differently and from different perspectives. While everything is easily gulped by the former, the later suspiciously approaches any situation, he lays low until he thinks that everything is safe to handle.
Experience, the best mentor, has molded his thought pattern to be on the safe side. He prefers a condition or circumstance that prevents harm and ensures protection. Old Age capacitates one to distinguish between the right and the wrong and to pursue that is useful for his life.
While a person in tender age rushes to situation with little anticipation of what comes later, a person of advanced age opts to take measure slowly and surely for the very reason off avoiding unwanted risks.
The outlook and the interests of both parties stand on opposite poles – one is that of easily yielding while the other is suspicious in all his or her undertakings.
Point of view from cultural perspective
Culture greatly influences the view point of a person. This advanced development of human powers, the body, and spirit, for the man to sees and perceives concepts and ideas that serve as life guideline within one self and among others, too.
These faculties, the body, mind and, spirit are naturally, academically and socially trained thereby develop into intelligence enough to dictate one’s behavior and determine how well one gets along with others. They, through course of time, become the particular emblem that differentiates it from the ways of other societies.
The owners of the culture, in harmony and common understanding, use it for the interaction with one another and for the accomplishments of things of different kinds as agreed upon.
Deviating from it entails condemnation for such an attitude and behavior becomes unfit for use in that particular society; judgment on such outlook is inevitably passed against it.
Unless the individual corrects his manners, he becomes unfit. Apparently, the point of view of all members of that particular society is governed and directed by it. Personal view of things must be accepted by the majority or else, the person finds himself in an awkward situation and little understood by the people around him.
Point of view from economic perspective
An individual, one way or other, finds himself in either one or the other economic status – upper class, middle class or lower class – the situation that positions him in the society. Status by definition is a person’s social or professional position in relation to others. Societally, one finds it impossible to act outside the social perimeter set depending on his status.
The haves, those in the upper class, have diametrically opposite world view at large. The issues of dictatorial and submission significantly play a decisive role in people’s relationship.
The have-nots point of view about anything , let’s say political decision, little claims acceptance for the haves believe that money is power and without it anybody cannot move any further, and they can achieve things with the power of their money.
Here is the point of departure of one outlook from the other. Reaction towards economic tyrants suddenly surfaces as we daily witness the current related circumstance and the negative impact on world due to this problem,. What is seen by one economic status may not be unseen as each wages the war of supremacy over the other.
There is hardly a common ground as each refuses to let go of its stubborn positions despite the harm it inflicts on the supporters of either one or the other party. The irony is that the haves, in spite of their immense wealth, are categorized in minority group.
The have-nots with the power of their big number, in the long run claim triumph over the haves. As a result, revolutions have been rocking the world; with the motto that the poor have nothing to lose but their chains. Nevertheless, the have-nots immediately change their point of view in an attempt to imitate life style their previous masters – the haves.
Point of view from political perspective
As for the law, considering civic responsibilities is one of the major political out looks. Civic responsibility embodies the concept of duties and rewards. To the lawyer, the very mention of civic responsibilities, strikes or ignites in him what is expected of a citizen to well adjust himself in the society.
The official life and the affairs is what he seriously considers. He broods over the fortunes or misfortunes of the people while they interact with one another within the precept of the law.
To him, the main view is abiding or not abiding by the moral instructions of the law which results in either reward or punishment. His joy is to pursue this pattern in all circumstances; nothing more, nothing less. A genuine politician, out of sincerity, focuses on active patriotism of each citizen; that is his conspicuous point of view.
He believes that without patriotism, the land he inhabits cannot be delivered from attack of any form. To a Politian, again, patriotism should free his land and the inhabitants from fear of instability.
His point of view is that, doe to emotional immaturity and failure to see the advantages and disadvantages, one should not indulge in any political rows or wrangling for the result will ultimately be devastating. That is exactly what the youth fail to figure out and suffer the consequences.
Point of view from religious perspective
A religious person perceives everything and reacts to from the stand point of his faith. It is his tern position that everything should fall in line with the dictates of his religious teachings. He views the world with those spectacles. His relation and dealings with people is based on trust and unquestioning confidence. For every word he utters, he is confident that there is a supernatural power watching, ruling and over all events.
Thus, he believes that no one escapes the punitive measures if any harm is done to him while he act remains justifiable, others and above all to the God he worships. There is no midway as far as the character virtuosity is concerned; do right and do not be subservient to the viciousness of the power of adversity.
Selflessness is among the pillars of righteousness that a man of faith ever confesses; he stretches his hand to the needy within his financial limit. What he owns, in fact, is not his owns, it is entrusted to him to reach out to those who are in dire poverty.
In principle, such a person should not be indulged in any form of luxury as long as there is a loud cry of seeking assistance from the people around him. He is vigilant to avoid evil and keeps his ears and eyes open to every development around him. He is neither naïve nor oblivious.
Point of view from educational status perspective
People of different educational standards, under no circumstance, can have identical outlook. Statement on which the base their reasoning is cannot be the same at all. The very academic trainings make their outlook different for their springboard is their field of specialization.
They tend to go by the book; the bad thing about such situation is the inclination not being able to see anything beyond that limit, which is a major flaw in the perception. Unless the academician is conversant with other sources of knowledge through reading, he is rather half educated.
If part of the whole is lacking the qualities expected, the whole is lacking. What a tragedy, the very fact prevalent in Ethiopia. Thus the outlook equally lacks reliability and trust. Let’s all strive for the right points of view in life.
The Ethiopian Herald January 31/2021
