No segment of society is more steadfast,in advocating blessed silence than the cowboy crowd. Perhaps the most succinct expression of that sentiment comes in the old cowboy saying, "Never miss a chance to shut up." There's also this, expressed in another old saying: "No one is as interested in what you're saying as you are."

What's funny about that is that it is just another way of telling a person to shut up.

We have here an outlook that flies in the face of modern day, communication-iseverything, talk-it-to-death togetherness. What are we to make of it?

I'd never had an answer to give until I ran across something from an ancient philosopher-Aristotle, to be specific. But finding something in philosophy seems fitting, because cowboy life is a philosophical thing.

I was 41 when we launched this publication and had never read philosophy at any time. I've read plenty since. The cowboy world nudges you in that direction, I believe.

I've been struck by the striking similarities and parallels between the cowboy outlook and just good, solid, philosophical inquiry-especially the thinking of the classical philosophers. (For one such insight, see our article "Socrates Was a Cowboy," [Nov./Dec. 2004] posted online at americancowboy.com/socrates.)

So it was with interest that I contemplated something in a book edited by a past contributor to this periodical. Denis Boyles oversaw the writing that went into Everything You Need to Know About Philosophy (1999), and it was there that I found something very cowboy-like.

It came in a remark about a particular virtue, moderation. Moderation can be seen as one aspect of a larger matter-that of temperance, or self-mastery. Would anyone dispute that the Cowboy Way is one of self-mastery, or self-control-the trait of being in control of oneself and living in conformity to set standards?

The book stated: "Acquiring it [virtue] is one thing: passing it on to others who need it is another. According to Aristotle, virtue can be learned but not taught. Aristotle theorized that one acquired the habit of virtue as a result of being in the company of good people who habitually choose in moderation. Yet modeling works in some people and not in others. So how people come to learn virtue from others is a mystery. This much is clear, though: People do not acquire the habit of virtue from anyone's teaching it to them. Learning the habit. is a matter of character development."

Let's boil this down: some things are not learned by mere tutelage. Some things are learned wordlessly.

The remark by Aristotle, then, might give us a glimpse into the workings of the Cowboy Way. We know, already, that cowboys- the strong, silent type-perpetuate their own set of virtues, and that in some cases, perhaps most, this is done wordlessly.

And that, it would seem, might have some application to problems that reside in the rest of the world.

One message we've shared here for years is that the Cowboy Way is something that has meaning beyond its core devotees- those devotees being cowboys and all who admire them and the values they represent. But the point is that the values have meaning beyond this circle of adherents. By "beyond" I mean extending to all the rest of the country, or the rest of the world, for that matter.

Then let us set forth a principle. The Cowboy Way has meaning-has its most impactful, most lasting meaning-insofar as it extends beyond cowboys themselves. To the degree that it extends beyond them, it gives meaning back to them. If it does not accomplish this, it is a sham and a all places and at all times, among all people everywhere. When you've stopped saying that the Cowboy Way is good for all human beings, then you've stopped saying that the Cowboy Way is good for the cowboy world, too. We mustn't confuse the mere trappings with the true essence. The clothes, the gear, the livestock, the profession, the talk-these are the externals. They have their place in that cowboy society, but that society's ideals must extend beyond its own members or else be dismissed as trivialities.

So if the Cowboy Way has meaning beyond itself, and yet the Cowboy Way is often spread wordlessly, then how can it be propagated?

Maybe we cannot say how with certainty, but as Aristotle indicated, it is indeed propagated. And I don't think Aristotle meant by any kind of written messaging-not even by those Lone celebration of the National Day of the American Cowboy and trust that others are doing the same thing, and that by sheer numbers, and sheer devotion to a Code that is essentially an unwritten Code- and that is exactly what it is-you are helping to send a message that (A) this nation needs to get back to what made it great, and (B) the guys in the white hats are the ones to lead the way-and to lead by example more than by talk.

If enough Americans rally to these events, a message will go forth. The nation will notice. It need not be heavy on words. What makes people notice is action and sacrifice. Both of those are apparent when you stand up and are counted.

So stand up, neighbor, and let your community see that you put some ways above others. For more information on the National Day of the American Cowboy, log on to cowboyday.com.