America and the Cowboy Code
Given recent swings in public sentiment, are we seeing signs that this nation is re-attuning itself to the values we recognize as the Code of the West?

Since November’s elections, the biggest topic of discussion in political circles has been not for whom the people voted, but for what. It’s become known as the year when the public pulled the lever for values. Fed up with indecencies and licentiousness in media and in public and community affairs, rising up at last against a too-long-sustained assault on the institutions of marriage, family, and religion, Americans have sent a mandate to Washington and to state capitals across the land. It’s a move hailed by many as a return to America’s wellspring of vitality—to its heartland heritage and to its deepest-rooted nationalistic and moral identity. The affinities between this yearning and past ages’ reverence for their pioneer ethic and Cowboy Way are plain enough.

To explore this phenomenon further, we sought the insights of three respected observers of the public scene. We’re proud to share with you their responses.

Find the rest of this exciting article and more in the March/April 2005 issue of American Cowboy magazine...

ILLUSTRATION BY: DAVID GRIGSBY

"You don't have to have been born in cowboy country to understand and practice its code"