There’s a small but striking moment in the Gospels where Jesus calls out His generation for their immaturity (Matt. 11:16-19).
He compares them to children playing games in the marketplace; kids who complain to their friends, “We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance; we played funeral songs, and you didn’t mourn.”
In other words: we set the rules, and you didn’t play along. It’s a picture of petty people demanding conformity, then punishing anyone who refuses to perform on cue.
That image has been on my mind lately, because we’re seeing the same behavior play out, not in first‑century Judea, but in conservative circles right here in Wyoming.
It’s astonishing how quickly adults can regress to junior‑high behavior.
If you associate with the “wrong” person, or support the “wrong” candidate, or even have a conversation with someone outside the approved tribe, suddenly you’re labeled, shamed, or shoved into a box. I’ve experienced it myself, along with others.
Support one candidate over another, and you’re branded a RINO. Attend the wrong meeting, and you’re accused of switching sides.
If you don’t play along with a faction’s games, well then you’re now an enemy.
Your identity is no longer tied to your principles, your record, or your reasoning; it’s assigned to you by someone else based solely on who you stand next to.
That’s not Wyoming, nor is it conservatism. That’s identity politics.
The one thing Wyoming natives understand is just how important neighbors are, even if you have different opinions.
It seems we’ve had voices from outside Wyoming, people who haven’t quite assimilated to Wyoming culture who are wanting to tell us what new game we should play and what the new rules are.
For years, conservatives criticized the left for dividing society into tribes: oppressors and oppressed, victims and victors, groups that must be protected and groups that must be punished.
We watched the rise of DEI bureaucracies, the obsession with group outcomes over individual merit, and the insistence that people be judged not by their character but by their category.
We rightly rejected that worldview because it undermines personal responsibility and the dignity of the individual.
But now, disturbingly, some on the political right are adopting the same mindset, being influenced by populism while forgetting their principles!
Instead of evaluating ideas, we evaluate associations. Instead of debating policy, we police loyalty. Instead of encouraging independent thought, we demand tribal conformity.
The left used to be the side saying, “If you don’t agree with us then you’re the enemy, you racist bigot.” Increasingly, the right is saying the same thing, but with different words.
And the consequences go far beyond name‑calling.
This identity‑politics mindset is now shaping how some conservatives view economic development and industrial activity.
I’ve watched people who once championed free enterprise suddenly sound like the same environmental activists who tried to shut down coal mines and power plants.
Data centers, critical infrastructure for the modern economy, are now treated as existential threats. Industrial projects that create jobs and expand our tax base are attacked as if they are poison.
The same fear‑based thinking that once drove the “keep it in the ground” movement is now driving the “not in my backyard” movement (NIMBY).
Back then, activists insisted that human activity itself was the problem. They wanted to shut down coal‑fired power plants, ignore the realities of baseload power, and pretend that wind and solar alone could keep their iPhones charged, hospitals running, and homes heated.
They were disconnected from reality, and the results were predictable: higher energy costs, unreliable grids, and communities left behind.
Now some on the right are repeating the same mistakes, just with different villains.
Instead of environmentalists demanding government intervention to stop industrial projects, it’s conservatives doing the cheerleading.
Instead of the left weaponizing regulation to halt economic activity, it’s the right urging government to “step in” and shut things down.
Instead of trusting individuals and businesses to innovate responsibly, some so-called conservatives now assume that every industrial process is a threat that demands endless government scrutiny.
“The people demand it!” they say, as if we were The People’s Republic of China.
That is not the conservative tradition. It’s a betrayal of it.
Conservatives have always believed in personal responsibility, limited government, and the dignity of work.
We’ve believed that people who take risks and build things deserve respect, not suspicion, whether it’s a mine, a ranch, a small business, a wind farm, or a data center.
We’ve believed that economic development means more than adding another fast‑food restaurant.
I’m thankful for new restaurants, but real economic development means creating the blue‑collar and white‑collar jobs that sustain families and communities. Industries that build and produce the things we use are what ultimately sustains downstream supply chains and the service industry.
And we’ve believed that government shouldn’t stand in the way of private business success. Government should not be weaponized to punish disfavored industries or settle tribal scores.
The irony is painful: some of the same people who once mocked environmentalists for wanting to shut down the modern world are now trying to shut down the infrastructure that makes the modern world possible.
The same people who once championed free enterprise are now demanding government intervention. The same people who once rejected identity politics are now practicing it.
We don’t have to play these games. We don’t have to dance when someone pipes a tune or mourn when someone sings a dirge.
We can choose maturity over tribalism, principle over pettiness, and opportunity over fear.
Wyoming has always been strongest when we think for ourselves, judge people by their character, and let individuals, not tribes and factions, determine their own identity.
It’s time we remember that.
Scott Clem can be reached at: ScottClem@live.com
