In the 18th century, a revolt against the Enlightenment arose that historians call Romanticism. It was a rebellion against the idea that humans are merely rational machines.
It insisted that the human soul is shaped by wonder, longing, imagination, and the raw power of creation.
Where the Enlightenment trusted reason, the Romantics trusted emotion.
Where industrial society saw nature as resource for human flourishing, Romantics saw it as something sacred that restores the soul.
At its core, Romanticism was a protest against a world shrinking into spreadsheets and systems — a reminder that people are not meant to be managed but awakened.
It's the ancestor of later countercultural movements. It makes me wonder, is what we're seeing in the Wyoming legislature a kind of neo-Romanticism.
The last couple of weeks have been filled with political drama.
On one hand, you have those who have helped to build and maintain a modern system of governance built upon industrialism and rationalism.
They have articulated certain truth claims about how the world works with a kind of academic prowess.
They see themselves as using public dollars as a catalyst and support for the broader economy.
On the other hand, you have a countercultural revolt who sees the modern system of governance at odds with the true nature of things.
They hold all the truth claims of their counterparts with suspicion, and instead have idealized view of how things should be that reminds me of a romanticized view of the 1950's.
They are dismantling the modern system brick-by-brick, and replacing it with something else. But what is that something else?
Scripture tells us that without a vision, the people perish. Whatever the vision is for the neo-Romantics of our age, it's unclear to much of the public.
Whereas some in the legislature and around the state see "progress," many others just see destruction: no raises for state employees, cutting tens of millions of federal funds out of our state budget for Indian healthcare, cutting millions for critical access hospitals and labor-and-delivery services, defunding the Wyoming Business Council, cutting millions from the University of Wyoming, etc.
All of this, and the legislative session hasn't even started yet!
The words of the Miley Cyrus song come into my mind when I think about all this: "I came in like a wrecking ball…"
For some reason, all I can think of is a naked Chris Farley in his underwear on a wrecking ball plowing through a wall, grinning from ear-to-ear with his head crowed back and that iconic laugh of his.
I’ve watched too many Adam Sandler movies. I digress...
There’s no doubt destruction is what many people feel, and it turns out people typically don’t like to see things destroyed.
They are not seeing what the legislature is for, or what they are wanting to build towards, only what the legislature is apparently against.
How this will help Wyoming, it's people, and it's economy is lost on many people.
Business leaders are wondering if they'll have the same level of support.
Native Americans on the Wind River Reservation are wondering if their health care services will be the same.
Expectant women are wondering if they’ll have to drive for hours to find a hospital where they can have a safe delivery.
Mothers and fathers are concerned that the University of Wyoming is no longer the best place to send their kids. People are, well, concerned.
The legislature has a problem. Maybe their actions really are good for Wyoming. Maybe our state is being set up for success for years to come.
But that's not how it comes across to the majority of people I've interacted with.
Turns out, when the public perceives that radical moves are being made, they get anxious.
With that anxiety comes instability and chaos, which is a threat to the independence, liberty, and peace our society has enjoyed.
I'm not sure what the legislature should do.
What I do feel confident in saying is that if they refuse to see the warning signs, if they refuse to acknowledge the smoke, then there will soon be a fire.
Scott Clem can be reached at: ScottClem@live.com
