Death is clarifying, not just for the dying, but for the living. As a hospice volunteer, I have the privilege of spending time with dying patients. Recently, I asked a patient, ‘Mabel,’ for her thoughts on how we might overcome the nastiness, anger and cruelty that has infected our beloved state and local communities.
Opinion
Mabel began by telling me about her late husband, a World War II veteran. Missing today, she suggested, is the kind of patriotism rooted in America’s core value of liberty and justice for all, and that all are created equal. These were shared values that made the American experiment so exceptional, the American people so optimistic and the United States the envy of the world.
After the war, thanks to the GI Bill, Mabel’s husband and millions of other veterans were able to pursue and pay for ongoing education, get help obtaining jobs, purchase starter homes, and invest in stocks, bonds and other assets. Because the U.S. was still segregated when the GI Bill became law, many Black veterans were excluded. For the veterans who did access the benefits, this led to historic prosperity — today’s baby boomers are the wealthiest generation in history.
But we of the postwar era have taken for granted what the veterans of a prior generation bequeathed to us. Over the past 80 years, liberty and justice for all has morphed into liberty and justice for a few.
Mabel minced no words. We who proudly called ourselves liberals — teachers in schools and colleges, policy experts in think-tanks and government — have failed to recognize that the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few is incompatible with liberty and justice for all.
How right she is. The possibility of America isn’t just a political framework; it’s rooted in ideals that our nation’s founders, most wealthy landowners and slaveholders themselves, bravely enshrined despite the reality of their time. It isn’t surprising that, without exception, the founders were men of faith, trusting in each other and in something far greater than themselves. Whether religious or not, they held a shared belief in the dignity and goodness of humankind “created in God’s image.”
But our better angels retreat amidst fear, insecurity and isolation, and that is where we are today. In a world of rapid change, misinformation and rampant loneliness, we are forgetting the moral underpinning of who we are and the very goodness that makes us human.
Wyoming has yet to build immunity to this virus. From her hospital bed, Mabel remains a keen observer of current events. She acknowledges that with our low population, the ease of getting elected and our pathological dislike of government, Wyoming is an ideal place for agents of the wealthy and powerful to influence more than state and local government, but national politics as well. We are willing pawns in the scheme.
And so the infection spreads. Fear mongers capitalize on the legitimate grievances of hardworking, values-driven Wyomingites to advance their own agendas, leaving those furthest from opportunity even further behind.
Sounds too simple, but it is not. It all might cast a dark shadow on the start of 2026, were it not for Mabel’s additional wisdom: The remedy is one another. The virus spreads in the distance between us, in the unkindness, distrust and nastiness that advance the interests of the powerful few. Likewise, we each have power to prioritize our neighbors over news headlines, to make patriotism about liberty and justice for all, to find ourselves in service of others and the urgent needs of our nation. In sum, we can commit this year to being human in all our goodness. We can build better communities and a better state by taking to heart the wisdom of a dying woman.
i.e. the guts to get off the frick’n bandwagon. Young folks need leaders to set healthy, wholesome examples. When I was 12 yrs. old I looked up to 2 men in my life, my Dad (who had sensitivity & inner strength) and Dwight Eisenhour, these 2 men led by example with intelligence & integrity. John Freeman is right on target, I recommend folks read a previous article of his “Principled Patriotism”.
I do have a comment but at this time I have challenging time constraints this morning. All I can say now is that I’m disappointed that Mr. Lewis summed up his thoughts in far too many words. I’ll have just a bit more to say about that when I write my “official” comment. I hope all might be blessed in some way today. I hope the “Freedom” caucus might be blessed with sanity & intestinal fortitude.
OK, less words.
Wealth always concentrates in every system you can imagine. America still is the beacon of liberty and justice despite the propositions of incompatibility in the opinion.
In my opinion (worth less than two cents), an uneducated, misinformed, indifferent population got us here. Though I think both political parties were complicit in catering to corporations over labor, the Republican Party has worked to turn our government into Project 2025 for 50 years. We’re halfway there. We let it happen and only we can stop it and build an even better USA.
Patriotism? Religion? Military worship? Useless manipulation by a toxic right-wing of mediocre politicians that appealed to insecure people who wouldn’t dare take a chance in life and are afraid of their own shadows.
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity” -yeats
I agree with your comment Mr Nixon. Well stated
Wow! Once again, as always in Wyoming, it is the fault of the ‘liberals’. Crazy how we hold no power in this state but get all the blame.
I see so called liberals fighting to end the wealth disparity. I see liberals fighting to ensure social justice and equality for all. I see liberals trying to get & keep healthcare rights. If that is what is taking our country down the tubes, so be it. I would rather go down on the right side with those morals than stay afloat where people are marginalized systemically.
Thank you, John, for your words of inspiration at a time when the country has lost its way. We have lost the ability to talk with one another civilly. Thank you, John, for your inspiring words at a time when our country feels lost. We have forgotten how to engage in civil dialogue. This is not the America I know and love.
We must work diligently to restore it by voting for moderate candidates who are committed to collaborating for the common good. This is not the America I know and love. We must work hard to get it back by voting for moderate candidates who are willing to work together for the common good.
While there is nothing wrong with the GI Bill, it wasn’t the leading driver of prosperity following WWII. The simple fact is that the entire world’s production facilities were destroyed nearly everywhere… Except the Western Hemisphere. We had production and we had markets to access. We had a Navy that protected the trade routes. We had prosperity.
The GI Bill was a lift for the millions who served and took advantage of the program. Not everyone benefited, that is true. And it was not always available. Between 1977 and 1985, the program became (VEAP) far more restricted than the “Old GI Bill” enacted in 1944. And if you were discharged before 1985, then you were pretty unlikely to get much out of that program. Particularly with really low pay and if you had a family. I was in that group. Economically it was a horrible time for active duty and the years that followed.
Do I need to be catered to for being in that group? No.
The opinion piece is also misinformation when the author says…
“We who proudly called ourselves liberals — teachers in schools and colleges, policy experts in think-tanks and government — have failed to recognize that the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few is incompatible with liberty and justice for all.”
Instead, liberals have always sought to create entitlement programs to address the “inequity”. In the process, they have erected barriers to “liberty and justice for all”. The law of unitended consequences won’t be repealed.
Liberals have used tax policy to redistribute monies from the private sector to government sectors using tax policies, grants, loans and nearly every lever they can pull. The government sector then created an “entitled” sector of the economy. Medicare and Social Security is part of the entitled sector. That is a lot of money paid by the government to a lot of people, therefore individuals get small amounts. But there are other parts of the entitled sector that are lots of money paid to the very few. This is where John Freeman’s arguments fall flat. Sectors of the entitled economy have fueled the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few. Consider the Defense sector of the economy. It is entitled and has influenced the drive to have forever wars.
Congress is full of entitled people who have gathered enormous wealth. It certainly isn’t their salary that makes them wealthy and it isn’t their participation in capitalism. Pelosi, AOC, Ilhan Omar have made stunning gains in wealth. Liberals can be found in either party. In Wyoming, liberals and conservatives permeate the republican party. And the splits are easy to see. Liberals spend their time defending taxes and defend spending for the entitled.
Wealth for the well connected often comes from trading on influence. We see it here in Wyoming. County commissioners… wealthy. School Superintendents rank high in income and wealth in their districts. Laramie County School District #1, for instance, gave teachers a three point sumpthin pay raise while the administration got 4.5%. The legislature voted for 8% to teachers. Welfare for the well connected.
We see it in the Wyoming Government in spades. They Wyoming Business Council is all about rewarding the well connected. State Lands will hand out land swaps to the well connected that will includes sitting Wyoming legislators, and executive branch members. Every agency and UW spend the resources of the many on the entitled few. Without exception, growing government has grown the entitled sector. Just look at where the payments of Agencies go… see wyopen.gov
And Liberals have been the champions for the entitled. They have also been champions of opposing patriotism. One need only look at Minnesota, Illinois, Chicago, New York and California.
And liberals have waged war on faith for a very long time. I wonder what John Freeman thinks about faith, patriotism, and wealth within the current Democrat party.
I wonder what John Freeman would say about the growth of the entitlement sector since WWII, And the concentration of wealth to those that administrate that sector. The path to great wealth in the era of Obama care and the “Affordable” Care Act is to be CEO of United Health and Humana. Be Anthony Fauci in NIH (www.marshall.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Anthony-Fauci-Financial-Disclosures-for-2020-and-2019.pdf) or any number of other bureaucrats who are given patent royalties, while they push the drugs from those patents.
Both the Defense Industry and the Health industry has not let any crisis go to waste. And Liberals have influenced many industries similarly.
We grow government, and we grow the entitlement sector, and and Liberal policies split Americans.
Hmmm Kevin. I conclude that you see no role for government in a civilized society?
THOROUGHLY SAID, Thanks Kevin. We hear a lot about the decline of births on this planet. This means fewer people to lessen the burden of demand. American society produces personal glory and influence by many avenues. Sports, livelihood, wealth acquired by aggression. As do other societies. If indeed the population decreases, there will fewer people to accept and grow governance by the more aggressive. As said by a good friend past, “men have always killed men.” AGRESSION. Surely animal behavior.
THANK YOU. We need to adsorb “Mabel’s” wisdom.
Nice work, John. I miss the thoughtfulness and civility that characterized both Wyoming and America. Thanks for reminding us.
You hit upon what has always been a strength in Wyoming. That is because our population is so small, there is a huge opportunity to make a difference, if you are passionate about your beliefs. The problem is that works for fanatics and unscrupulous people too.
It is essential not to be apathetic and stay involved to counter them.
Well said John….and Mabel
Whether religious or not, they held a shared belief in the dignity and goodness of humankind “created in God’s image.”
Why is that last part in quotes? I cannot find this quote in any of our Founding Documents.
While Mabel’s husband, who I am assuming is a Caucasian, could take unfettered advantage of the GI Bill, the same was not true for the African-Americans who fought in the same war.
Nice story but Mabel is now observing the results of staying silent while these inequities were happening during her lifetime.
The comment on Mabel was out of line. You are making a ton of assumptions. The editorial is from John Freeman, going after the little old lady is unseemly… at best.
While I didn’t agree with many of your assumptions regarding liberals as being the sole source of problems in the United States Kevin, I will agree with you 100% here. Mr. Hunter’s comments regarding a lady who’s obviously experienced more in her life then most on here doesn’t deserve a cheap shot like that.
Kevin, Mabel is not her real name and my far more compact critique must have really triggered you, as your multi-paragraph response reveals. When all you try is shame for me and recite Pelosi, AOC and Omar for your examples as acquiring great wealth while in Congress without mentioning any Republicans or even men, you have given away where you are getting information. Hating on women, animals and brown people seems to be GOP “value”.
Wyoming is a great case for studying how flooding the zone with stories that attack good social programs and good legislators, so Republicans get elected to cut taxes for the wealthy, actually has worked. Republicans think Trump was good at business instead of born with wealth, no wonder every 5th generation cattle rancher voted for him as they acquired generational wealth the same way he did, born to it. Restricting brown people from acquiring generational wealth has been the mission of the US since its founding, yet Kevin seems to miss that obvious fact.
Well said John. How much I long for the political moderation of our Wyoming past, and for the considerate and amenable America pre-Trump. It’s difficult these days to feel confident our country will avoid this drive towards an authoritarian government led by greed, rather than compassion and fairness. Despite the influx of the hard right into Wyoming beliefs and politics, I’m hopeful the more moderate, liberal and progressive among us will manage to bring Wyoming back to center.
Nice work. As a fellow historian, I’m sure you have studied what brought down the “Robber Barons” of America’s first “Gilded Age”. Now we have a cabal of billionaires in power touting a second such social saunter into the absurd elderly cosplay of the ultra rich mind. A quick study article for the masses on how the Robber Barons self-inflicted denouement came about, would be a boost for our troubled times.
Thanks for the reminder, John.