The Johnson County, Wyoming, Lincoln County, New Mexico, and other such “Wars” in the American West have long fascinated me. They were part of what was termed the “Western Civil War of Incorporation”, where the rich, predominantly from the East and Midwest, pitted their power against the interests of small landowners and settlers. These huge “Cattlemen’s Associations” used their money, their pedigrees (their ranks included “old money”, those who, merely by fortunate birth, felt a certain entitlement), and their political and military clout to advance their agenda for “civilizing” the West. While movies, such as “Heaven’s Gate”, have taken liberties with characters and story lines, there are a number of points made that apply today. During the first segment of the film, taking place at a Harvard commencement, a contrast is made regarding the imperative of education. On the one hand, education is presented as the path toward meaningful change. On the other, it is said that nothing of substance will change, using the allegory of the Earth and its relationship with the Sun, but setting up the theme for the rest of the story. Western lands were considered public domain, open to opportunity for anyone willing to make the trek, to settle, and to grow. In a wide swath of land, there was more than ample room for peaceful and prosperous coexistence, but, for many of those with more than enough, this wasn’t enough. They fought against the interests of the common man and woman, using all manner of excuse to rationalize their aims. They laid claim to all unbranded cattle in open range, labeling those smaller ranchers, who suggested otherwise, “thieves and rustlers”. They targeted new settlers as “immigrants” and, though many were, it was easier to lump them all together, to point out how “different” they were in language and customs, and to use this as basis for fomenting fear. While they targeted male settlers, often killing them for any of their many conjured reasons, the collateral damage on remaining family – women and children left to struggle and starve – was of no concern. This was done in the name of “civilization”. One line stands out – “It’s becoming more dangerous to be poor.” The powers that brought death and ruin to so many common folks, citizen and non-citizen, alike, were never brought to justice. Some were shielded – unnamed and, therefore, unprosecuted, having kept themselves at arm’s distance and using proxies as their firewalls – and others were held in what would be the Old West version of “country club” incarceration, but, in the end, no one was seriously punished. One telling reason is that the citizens of Johnson County were told that they would have to pay for prosecution costs. The sparsely populated county didn’t have the money, so murderers went free. Other perpetrators just fled, once released on bail or their own recognizance, to other parts and avoided prosecution – or its appearance – altogether. The contemporary corollaries are not lost upon me. Education has slipped in this country, but knowledge has slipped even further. Nothing has changed.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 22:34:16 +0000
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