I've maxed out. Closed this blog. |
Why is the cowboy such an American icon? Cowboys have existed in other countries, like Canada, Mexico, Australia, Peru, Brazil, South Africa. But those countries never made heroes of them, or singled them out as a national symbol. All the world over, where everything about us is not hated, that is, people recognize and love the American cowboy. Yet, the cowboy for the most part lived in only one part of the country for a very short period of time. He was a source of fear, dread, respect, hero worship. And still books are being written about them. That image, part real, some imagined, stirred the imagination and flamed the heart. Today, we still have rodeo cowboys and urban cowboys. But they are just imitations. It's a hard concept to grasp. The cowboy gets mixed in with agri-business history, history of the railroad, of government, western expansion, and settlers. Even historians can't seem to agree on their interpretation of the phenomenon. The modern ranch hand, whether on horse or in a pick-up, just doesn't have the same romance of adventure. We still thrill at a good cowboy story, no matter how sophisticated we become. Most of us feel like something is missing without the legendary cowboy, when men were real men. Long live the memory of the cowboy. |