It could be argued that many of the core values and
traditional activities cherished by most Wyoming people do not match up with the
values of the majority of American citizens.
If not so today,
how will those values match up in the distant future?
This column is
being written looking ahead to the year 2040, when another generation has
approached middle age.
Trends
concerning hunting, guns, rodeo, treatment of animals, gender stereotypes and
our love affair with fossil fuels that are rapidly taking hold across the
country often do not seem to be catching on here, at least not yet.
My premise is
that Wyoming in 2040 could be a lot different than today. The year 2040 is when
my oldest grandchild will be 50, and, if I am still around, will be approaching
95 years old.
Let me be more
specific:
• The 47 percent factor. Most Wyoming
folks want to believe they are self-reliant conservatives and are opposed to federal
government programs providing so much to citizens. The stern reaction by the
recent legislature to turn down $33 million in federal Medicaid funds reflects
this mind-set.
Here in
Wyoming, we have a huge federal land footprint and low population. Yet the
statistics might show, as some critics suggest, that Wyoming citizens are among
the biggest welfare beneficiaries in the country when it comes to federal money
doled out on a per-capita basis.
But off in the
future, 24 years hence, perhaps the Europeanization of America will have been
completed. It looks like a lot of
Millennials are “feeling the Bern,” meaning they are followers of the socialist
programs espoused by Bernie Sanders.
• Man’s dominion over animals. This is
somewhat biblical but we are a state whose residents love hunting and whose official
statewide sport is rodeo.
Big national
groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are making headway
in establishing that animals have rights and in some cases, feelings, too
One example is
that some radicals want to give personhood to apes and the higher forms of
primates because they exhibit human characteristics.
Not long ago,
a major news organization featured a story where some scientists claimed to
have proved that dogs have feelings. As a result, they posited that dogs should
not be “owned.”
Such attitudes
toward the rights of animals are in full glory on both of our coasts, so get
ready. As a pet owner, I wonder what will
be different in 2040 than back here in 2016?
• This carries over to rodeo. These groups feel rodeo animals are being
exploited and purposely subjected to injury. Will there be rodeos in 2040? I
hope so.
To me, right
now, the biggest group needing protection during a rodeo are the bull
riders. Got to be the toughest sport in
the country. Any man who would strap himself on the back of a 2,000-pound
belching behemoth is taking his life in his hands. At least give him an airbag,
a roll bar and a parachute.
• Hunting is popular. In some parts of America, serious animal
activists are making headway against hunting wild animals. Hard to believe, but
hunting is losing popularity around the country.
• Gun ownership in America is always under attack. In the wake of
school shootings and terrorist attacks like Orlando, anti-gun folks argue
against gun ownership. By 2040, we will definitely have two populations in
America, one armed and one unarmed.
• Sexual and gender boundaries are being
pushed across the country. It just seems
like an over-reaction that all schools are going to be affected by a small
percentage of conflicted transgender kids. Most of Wyoming is resisting this
today. But what will be the national norm in 2040?
I heard a boy
mention during his valedictory speech at a graduation this year that one of his
most anxious moments of his high school career was “whether to invite that cute
boy to the prom.” Yes, things are changing.
• Wyoming folks appreciate fossil fuels.
Most of our state government leaders deny the advent of worldwide global
warming. Much of the country wants to move
on to renewable energy. People on both coasts dislike the thought of all that
smelly smoke coming out of coal-fired power plants. Sorry, but I cannot help
myself, in repeating this old joke on this subject:
After all, most of these folks would
say if you want electricity, why do you need coal? Duh, just plug your cord
into the wall.
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