Maybe it's just me, but I get the grumpiest vibe off the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. It seems, from all their pronouncements and public personae, that they just aren’t having any fun.
Oh, they’re sure zealous. I’ll give them that much. But it looks like their zeal is costing them a lot of joi de vivre.
Their brows are perpetually wrinkled and their jaws are always tight and they’d be the last folks anyone would invite to liven up a party.
It must be the weight of all that responsibility for saving us from rainbow unicorn commies that has their sphincters constricted tight as a bloated tick.
For all their evangelical Bible-thumping, it doesn’t appear that they have paid any attention to Philippians 4:4. The behave more like Old Testament prophets calling down fire and brimstone and siccing bears on little kids.
These latter day Puritans worry too much about what women do with their own bodies and whether we have enough guns, and they forget the simple message of the Gospel.
They want our schools to morph into MAGA madrassas teaching kids that the world was created in six days, rather than supporting academies in which our young ‘uns learn critical thinking skills.
No wonder they act pissed off all the time!
The Freedom Caucus political orthodoxy is gnarly, thin-skinned and totally lacking a sense of humor. It seems they have, en masse, forsaken the simple joys of being alive in a place like Wyoming in favor a bleak authoritarian fantasy.
And they want to lead us all into that dystopian dream.
Wyoming, at least in my estimation, is so much more than a proving ground for Pentecostal Puritanism disguised as grassroots political activism. Wyoming is a place in God’s creation that almost demands rejoicing.
It is populated with folks who enjoy a good time and who don’t appreciate being told how to behave. By anyone.
The Cowboy State is big and brash and enjoys a good belly-laugh. There’s something special about this place that makes folks walk around with smiles on the faces, not mope around looking like they have just chugged a pint of vinegar.
We got that sense of joy in this place from the First People Here, from the trappers at rendezvous, from cowboys on Saturday night in town, from fathers who taught us to fish in creeks. I don’t think any of us could adequately describe it, but we sure recognize its absence.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out how anyone in Wyoming would want to fall in line behind a bunch of grumpy politicians who would rap us across the knuckles in a heartbeat if they thought we were having a good time.
The same politicians who are willing to let our small towns die, yet unwilling to support the family of a fallen cop want to lead us into their version of the future. A regimented, militaristic, humorless, no monkey-business future wherein we are free to obey their dogma but not to think for ourselves.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus should be called the Big Empty Coalition of the Easily Upset, and their flag should display a string of tightly clutched pearls.
Their grumpiness is what will limit them as a political force. They won’t be able to get along with anyone other than their own kind. They seem to neglect that evolution teaches that the species that can cooperate and compromise are the species that survive.
But then, the mere mention of “evolution” sets their teeth on edge, since it's not mentioned in the Bible.
Their extinction will be the result of their own zeal, the instrument of their doom will be their own lack of coolness. And that will give the rest of us something to laugh at.
So, friends and neighbors, don’t be like the Freedom Caucus grinches. Enjoy life, have fun and laugh!
Rod Miller can be reached at: rodsmillerwyo@yahoo.com
