Dear editor:

Recently I was driving on U.S. Highway 14/16/20 (the famed Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway) during the early morning hours to do some photography at Yellowstone and saw something that caught my eye. It wasn’t the ever-present elk herd grazing in the fields outside of Wapiti or a grizzly bear ripping up the ground and rooting for grubs in the Shoshone Forest. Instead, it was an American flag that was torn and perilously attached to a flagpole located on one of the properties along the route. 

The sight of a weathered stars and stripes isn’t uncommon in the Cowboy State, especially with the rugged winds that blast this part of the country. What was unique about this experience was where the fabric was ripped. It was a sheer, horizontal tear, from the fly end all the way to the header, with pieces of thread whipping in the breeze. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and it got me to thinking about the state of the country.

Much like that tattered Old Glory, our nation has split into two factions where political parties are more focused on competing in a rhetorical war of words and accruing power rather than doing the business of the nation. 

The current shutdown is a symptom of a three headed monster that has permeated our national government for a long time and that is an erosion of democratic norms, the inability to be civil with one another, and using fear tactics to blame others. Both political parties are guilty of unleashing these poison pills into our society and their actions are slowly eroding the foundation of our country.

As former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, stated recently, “Democracy presumes an open, rational, thoughtful, decent discussion where you respect the dignity of the person with whom you disagree. And if it doesn't have that, then democracy as we know it is in danger.”

Democratic norms, things like the rule of law, checks and balances, and political pluralism, are cornerstone components to our republic’s success and our ability to be a global leader. When our elected leaders forget these core tenets, they needlessly endanger our country.

In today’s day and age, we are tacitly allowing ourselves to be victims of the algorithms which flood our social media platforms. They often reflect extreme views and vilify people who are different from us and have opposing views. It’s time for people to put down their cellphones and have real conversations with the members of their community. They’ll soon find out they have a lot in common.

Sadly, United States political history is replete with examples of partisan fury engulfing the country and our nation’s leaders not always doing the right thing. However, positive transformation, whether it’s been the ending of slavery, women’s suffrage, or the passage of civil rights legislation, has only occurred when an engaged and informed citizenry led the charge for accountability from their leaders and asserted an agenda of hope over fear.

As I made the drive back home, the crepuscular rays from the sun pierced through the clouds and created a beautiful palette of colors in the valley. I once again drove by the frayed flag and saw the red, white and blue fluttering in the breeze. It soon dawned on me that too many citizens are seeing one another as partisan colors on a political map (blue for Democrats or red for Republicans) rather than as individuals who agree on more things than they disagree on. 

Would we not be better off as a country finding workable solutions to the issues that are impacting the quality of life in the United States and Wyoming (challenges with affordable health care and property insurance, having unfettered access to public lands, reasonable housing costs, the stability of Social Security, etc.), rather than looking at our neighbors through the prism of identity politics?

With the nation on the cusp of celebrating 250 years, it’s time to prioritize purple issues (the color produced when mixing blue and red) where bipartisanship, compromise, and civility are the norm and the bloodsport of demonizing differences becomes a thing of the past.

By working together toward common goals, we can personify those values which make our country stronger and serve as a beacon to the next generation who will carry the torch of freedom in the future. It’s the right thing to do and we must not fail.

Todd Johnson

Powell