John Dutton meet J.R. Ewing
My hero’s have always been Cowboys”
Not many people wear cowboy boots and wear a cowboy hat in the 21st century. If they do there is a pretty good chance, they don’t own a horse, or most haven’t even ridden one in their lifetime. The “Urban Cowboy” craze of the 1970’s and the line dancing of the 1990’s made many “wanna be” cowboys and cowgirls. But, real cowboy’s and ranches are a dying breed in the 21st century.
In the last ouple years, the hit show “Yellowstone” has become a television sensation. The characters are what many would consider the last of the American cowboy. The Yellowstone Ranch is a beautiful ranch in Montana that is being threatened by big business to be bought and broken up for profit. The owner and major character, John Dutton (Played by Kevin Costner) is trying everything he can to hold onto a lifestyle that is just about gone.
When I was asked to watch the series, and it wasn’t until season 3 was already over, I didn’t expect the emotions of the American west would spark many thoughts of sadness of the old way of life that is fading so quickly. I am not speaking of political or racial pasts that are wanted back, but I am speaking of the freedom of the time that the land and what came with it was a simpler life in this great country. Hard work, less wants, precious family time, end of the day meals at the table, a crisp cool morning with a warm cup of coffee before you spent the day on the land of America working for what you had.
When I was growing up in the late 1970’s the hit television show “Dallas” was the thing that our parents waiting weekly for the next episode to come on. Between the episodes I would hear my parents talking about the Ewing’s like they knew them. At their offices, coffee shop, barber shop and even the hallways of my High School. This has been a flashback to those days with the Dutton’s of Yellowstone. Social Media would have been just a buzzing when the world asked the question, “Who shot JR”?; as they do now with, “Who is Beth gonna threaten or curse out”?
I wonder in 100 years if the America that changed the world with its freedoms and expansion of land will even be close to the same. Each decade the ranches become less in numbers and the cities become more in population. The strong American cowboy, with his hard nose work ethic and never quitting attitude made this country a place that anyone thought they could have the chance at the American dream. It is sad when the dream now is to get your government to help you attain almost anything and expect it to be there for you. The cowboy didn’t depend on anyone but itself to attain its dream.
Soon the Dutton’s and “Yellowstone” will be another “Dallas” or just another television show that will be forgotten, just like the old west is just a fading memory. What will progressivism do to a country that was founded on simple fundamentals is yet to be seen. But what I can almost guarantee is that the American cowboy and the spirit of this type of American will fade away to a sunset. Many will just move on…..but this “wanna be” cowboy will have a void inside his American spirit because of it.
“Git along little dogies…..
The Coach John Brent
Just some Cowboy boots in the back of the truck with a nice “The Coach and the Vet” sticker.
