I have used some of the same tropes about cowboy culture myself. Having grown up in it(somewhat), moved away and now returned home. What I’ve noticed with fresh eyes and a little bit less youthful reactionary tendencies is that despite its faults it at least is a culture.
I know a family who has been in my town since before there was a town. They’ve ran cattle, owned the auction market, very involved with our local rodeo etc. There is certainly some superficialities that come along with some of this stuff and it’s not all to my taste but they have a real coherent sense of themselves and their family story. They have walls of pictures of ancestors and know the stories if their patriarchs and matriarchs When there is a family celebration or mourning, they come together and renew the bond. Maybe it’s just the beginning, and a very incomplete one, but it’s the only way we can cultivate love for place and the virtue of fidelity. It’s a gift for future generations here.
Yes, it is definitely a culture! I feel like my essay on cults is applicable here. The only real good reason to leave your church/ cult/ state/ community is if the aesthetics don't suit you, because the same traumas and injustices exist everywhere, and each place will excel in different virtues. It really all boils down to being aware of where you belong religiously and geographically, and then staying committed to that place no matter the ups and downs.
I will give it a read! I agree with what you say although what I’ve come to realize slowly is that we ultimately might not get to decide where we belong, inconvenient or complicated as that may sometimes be.
I lived in WA state a long time. And I still love the dry parts but have had my fill of forests. And I had to leave because there were too many memories of husband 1 & 2 in those places and I was sad all the time. I wound up in rural KS. I don't expect to ever fit in like those born and raised here. I love that top of the world feeling when you can see for miles. I like that we waive at each other. I wear my long skirts and Birkies and take my dog to the lake every day. I don't have any close friends but am finally able to take part in some activities. And I'm happy most of the time. It's enough.
When I first moved out west from Wisconsin, I was equally underwhelmed by how brown it was out here. But I do enjoy going out and laying in a grassy field, and then getting up and not having to pick 15 ticks off myself. Can't do that out east.
My siblings and I used to have competitions to see who could pick off the most ticks!! Our little siblings will never know that joy lol!! But yes, walks in the prairie or over the mountains are something special.
As someone who lives in Missouri, but has always had a heart pounding love for not only the West, but Montana in particular, this was extra thought provoking. 😁
You feel about Montana about how I feel about Oklahoma. I only spent three years there, but I saw a large amount of the state, and I really don't like the culture. My younger brother moved there for awhile and I visited a couple times...still found that I hated it. There are people there I love, but the culture is very defensive, judgmental, and has high, high walls.
Of course, I'm from Texas, so I can go toe to toe over state pride with anyone from Montana. Maybe I don't have any room to judge.
This was interesting! Don't totally agree with you that there are places that are objectively "better" than others...though I definitely agree that the people in some places are treating their place AND each other much better than those in others. I relate to your feelings about your first home and after moving. I miss my wooded hills and vales of upstate NY every day, and am still trying to love the midwest. I think it would be beautiful, and tries to be, if only its people didn't treat it so unkindly. Your article made me ponder how I have idolized some places over others. Thanks for inspiring appreciation for different places, people, and points of view. :)
oh, I didn't mean to imply that some places are objectively better, although I do think that we each are better suited to different places, and that is an objective reality once we figure it out. I also think that some places get romanticized as being objectively better, when in reality they are only well suited for some, and those few aren't superior to others who aren't fitted for those regions. It's something else entirely! Embracing this has allowed me to love the Midwest properly as I desired to do so. However, I don't believe those who love the west need to come to any sort of understanding that the midwest is better or best.
“ I think it would be beautiful, and tries to be, if only its people didn't treat it so unkindly.” Yes, yes, YES!!! This is something that I’ve wrestled with - it’s really such a Biblical concept, actually, isn’t it? - and I love how you put it!
As a Missouri transplant, (born in NJ, raised in TN and lived in Chicago and Guatemala) I have come to agree with your assessment of the environment and culture here. This is now more home to me than anywhere I have lived!
I'm beginning to get the impression that you think that Jesus didn't wear cowboy boots :) But seriously though, I think life in the West can only be truly understood in the same way as Christianity, which is to say from the inside out, and with a lot of mercy for human failings.
My experience of this continent from moving in the other direction is that:
In the East, you are living in a civilization that is built as a succession on top of the previous cultural geography.
In the West you are moving through the post-apocalyptic remains of previous civilization(s). The only way to maintain sanity is to learn to read the gospel of Creation like St. Anthony and find the hidden and secret things the land has to offer you.
Without a good measure of interiority and introspection it is very easy to become lost in such wide open landscapes, and I think this extends to the social realm as well.
I lived in Montana for ten plus years and have many friends there (who are ranchers, too). This was my general overall impression, especially of my years as a teenager. I know there are many good people in Montana, and that there are reasons they love it there. However, it boils down to the fact that my blood is more midwestern than western . . . I couldn't ever convert to the wide, open planes! I also know Eastern Montana is drastically different (have friends there, too) and that Montana has a lot more trees once you near the Idaho border past Missoula (have friends there too). They weren't "my trees' though, if that makes sense.
I completely get it! I'm actually from Missouri too and have lived in Montana for about 16 years now. I miss trees that change color in the fall! I just know that as a cattle ranching family (my kiddos are the 4th generation) we do everything we can to save money and there really is no leisure time. My teenagers were super excited because they just got their first pair of brand new muck boots! I realize I'm in a different part of the state but not all ranchers are the way you portrayed them to be. And unfortunately due to beef prices alot people think we're "getting rich" which is definitely not true especially when you factor in all the other rising costs we are paying. Anyways, just my take on it. Have a great day!
I have used some of the same tropes about cowboy culture myself. Having grown up in it(somewhat), moved away and now returned home. What I’ve noticed with fresh eyes and a little bit less youthful reactionary tendencies is that despite its faults it at least is a culture.
I know a family who has been in my town since before there was a town. They’ve ran cattle, owned the auction market, very involved with our local rodeo etc. There is certainly some superficialities that come along with some of this stuff and it’s not all to my taste but they have a real coherent sense of themselves and their family story. They have walls of pictures of ancestors and know the stories if their patriarchs and matriarchs When there is a family celebration or mourning, they come together and renew the bond. Maybe it’s just the beginning, and a very incomplete one, but it’s the only way we can cultivate love for place and the virtue of fidelity. It’s a gift for future generations here.
Yes, it is definitely a culture! I feel like my essay on cults is applicable here. The only real good reason to leave your church/ cult/ state/ community is if the aesthetics don't suit you, because the same traumas and injustices exist everywhere, and each place will excel in different virtues. It really all boils down to being aware of where you belong religiously and geographically, and then staying committed to that place no matter the ups and downs.
I will give it a read! I agree with what you say although what I’ve come to realize slowly is that we ultimately might not get to decide where we belong, inconvenient or complicated as that may sometimes be.
I lived in WA state a long time. And I still love the dry parts but have had my fill of forests. And I had to leave because there were too many memories of husband 1 & 2 in those places and I was sad all the time. I wound up in rural KS. I don't expect to ever fit in like those born and raised here. I love that top of the world feeling when you can see for miles. I like that we waive at each other. I wear my long skirts and Birkies and take my dog to the lake every day. I don't have any close friends but am finally able to take part in some activities. And I'm happy most of the time. It's enough.
When I first moved out west from Wisconsin, I was equally underwhelmed by how brown it was out here. But I do enjoy going out and laying in a grassy field, and then getting up and not having to pick 15 ticks off myself. Can't do that out east.
My siblings and I used to have competitions to see who could pick off the most ticks!! Our little siblings will never know that joy lol!! But yes, walks in the prairie or over the mountains are something special.
As someone who lives in Missouri, but has always had a heart pounding love for not only the West, but Montana in particular, this was extra thought provoking. 😁
You feel about Montana about how I feel about Oklahoma. I only spent three years there, but I saw a large amount of the state, and I really don't like the culture. My younger brother moved there for awhile and I visited a couple times...still found that I hated it. There are people there I love, but the culture is very defensive, judgmental, and has high, high walls.
Of course, I'm from Texas, so I can go toe to toe over state pride with anyone from Montana. Maybe I don't have any room to judge.
This was interesting! Don't totally agree with you that there are places that are objectively "better" than others...though I definitely agree that the people in some places are treating their place AND each other much better than those in others. I relate to your feelings about your first home and after moving. I miss my wooded hills and vales of upstate NY every day, and am still trying to love the midwest. I think it would be beautiful, and tries to be, if only its people didn't treat it so unkindly. Your article made me ponder how I have idolized some places over others. Thanks for inspiring appreciation for different places, people, and points of view. :)
oh, I didn't mean to imply that some places are objectively better, although I do think that we each are better suited to different places, and that is an objective reality once we figure it out. I also think that some places get romanticized as being objectively better, when in reality they are only well suited for some, and those few aren't superior to others who aren't fitted for those regions. It's something else entirely! Embracing this has allowed me to love the Midwest properly as I desired to do so. However, I don't believe those who love the west need to come to any sort of understanding that the midwest is better or best.
Read through this again and I am seeing the essence of what you're saying much more clearly.
If you are ever in central Ohio (unremarkable as it is, haha), do stop by for dinner. We have a guest room and plenty of space to camp. :)
“ I think it would be beautiful, and tries to be, if only its people didn't treat it so unkindly.” Yes, yes, YES!!! This is something that I’ve wrestled with - it’s really such a Biblical concept, actually, isn’t it? - and I love how you put it!
As a Missouri transplant, (born in NJ, raised in TN and lived in Chicago and Guatemala) I have come to agree with your assessment of the environment and culture here. This is now more home to me than anywhere I have lived!
Thank you for sharing this.
I'm beginning to get the impression that you think that Jesus didn't wear cowboy boots :) But seriously though, I think life in the West can only be truly understood in the same way as Christianity, which is to say from the inside out, and with a lot of mercy for human failings.
My experience of this continent from moving in the other direction is that:
In the East, you are living in a civilization that is built as a succession on top of the previous cultural geography.
In the West you are moving through the post-apocalyptic remains of previous civilization(s). The only way to maintain sanity is to learn to read the gospel of Creation like St. Anthony and find the hidden and secret things the land has to offer you.
Without a good measure of interiority and introspection it is very easy to become lost in such wide open landscapes, and I think this extends to the social realm as well.
that's a great analysis between the lands of the east and the west.
Maybe you need to meet some other ranchers! I'm in NW MT and our family ranches and it's very different than what you described.
I lived in Montana for ten plus years and have many friends there (who are ranchers, too). This was my general overall impression, especially of my years as a teenager. I know there are many good people in Montana, and that there are reasons they love it there. However, it boils down to the fact that my blood is more midwestern than western . . . I couldn't ever convert to the wide, open planes! I also know Eastern Montana is drastically different (have friends there, too) and that Montana has a lot more trees once you near the Idaho border past Missoula (have friends there too). They weren't "my trees' though, if that makes sense.
I completely get it! I'm actually from Missouri too and have lived in Montana for about 16 years now. I miss trees that change color in the fall! I just know that as a cattle ranching family (my kiddos are the 4th generation) we do everything we can to save money and there really is no leisure time. My teenagers were super excited because they just got their first pair of brand new muck boots! I realize I'm in a different part of the state but not all ranchers are the way you portrayed them to be. And unfortunately due to beef prices alot people think we're "getting rich" which is definitely not true especially when you factor in all the other rising costs we are paying. Anyways, just my take on it. Have a great day!
Thank you for your perspective. It’s easy to romanticize the wide open skies when all I know is cookie-cutter Southwestern suburbs.