Thanks for a job with variety

Last weekend called for attending and photographing two events that represent opposite ends of the social variety spectrum. I couldn’t help but think that their occasions on the same day in the same community serve as an indicator of a healthy diversity in local society.

It takes all kinds, as the old saying goes. And it does, at least in America. George Washington knew that as he established practices for his officers and troops to follow that sought to hinder the spread of hard feelings, or at least stifle their appearance. He knew that to win the War of Independence, America would need every friend it could find in any quarter. Establishing a “hang together or hang separately” ethic was military necessity that forged a principal of pluralism around which American society quite uniquely grew.

Which brings us back to last weekend.

The Ridge Riders’ Junior Rodeo provided a look at the youth of society raised by folks who want them to learn determination. Rodeo is a demanding sport not for the weak. Like many sports, it’s all about discipline and domination, control over yourself and the situation you’re in, in this case involving an animal.

Next on the agenda was a visit to a native American art exhibit. As unique as each of the pieces in the exhibit was, they were all inspired through individuals seeking to express a greater truth, a goal that involves listening and feeling something the artist does not, cannot, hope to dominate.

That’s about as far from the kind of rigor represented by rodeo as it could be, and yet equally necessary for a healthy culture that can produce both imaginers of solutions and those able to carry them out.

And stuck right in the middle is a guy who gets to see it all and share thoughts about it with you.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher