Seeking Common Ground

**Red State, Blue State Cowboy**
The danger we face is in believing that if the other side wins, the country is lost.
But the real danger is if we can’t see the other side’s point of view, we are lost. That is
the biggest challenge we face. Blind rage mixed with certitude is not the answer
to our problems. Nor has it ever been.
– Artwork by Bob Boze Bell –

When it comes to the future, history is our best guide.

The good news first: the end of the 1918 influenza pandemic in 1920 led almost directly to the Roaring Twenties because everyone in the country was so ready to kick out the jams after all the death and depressing times. So let’s hope that history repeats itself this year.

And on that note, we thought it was high time to find common ground and set a new course for the future after a truly awful and depressing year.

In this issue we find common ground aplenty. Check out Jana Bommersbach’s heartfelt thoughts and words (page 66) about the pioneers and the folks who are preserving their efforts. Also check out the inclusive and celebratory features by John Langellier (page 28), Robert M. Utley (page 18) and our True Westerner of the Year recipient, Paul Andrew Hutton (pages 26-27 and 44-45).

Our intrepid and hardworking editor, Stuart Rosebrook, sums up our feelings for this new year, “We are grateful for the passion and dedication of the men and women across the West who continue to work hard in their communities to promote and support Western heritage tourism—despite the challenges of the pandemic. And it is to them that we at True West dedicate our Best of the West issue of 2021.”

Amen to that!