Don't Fence Me In
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don't fence me in
Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the western skies
On my cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise
I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences
Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
Can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Don’t Fence Me In—by Cole Porter and sung by Roy Rogers
If you happen to ask me what is my political philosophy, the answer is quite simple: Don’t fence me in.
Every offshoot philosophy, theorem, corollary of such, and dictum leads back to you leaving me the eff alone. Period. As long as I don’t trespass against you, don’t cross me. Of course this is metaphorical, but, seriously, don’t crowd my personal space.
I’m a Texan but I don’t ride a cayuse and I wish I did. (A cayuse is what would be termed as a maverick today; a wild horse escaped from the original Spanish conquistadores.)
I also don’t have an oil well but if I did it would afford me the opportunity to mount my trusted steed and gallop off to the limitless expanse before me, troubles be damned. Unfortunately at some point, I’d come across a human. I could only hope that he or she shared my sentiments: Don’t fence me in.
One of my favorite Westerns is Open Range. It’s a battle between those who don’t want to be fenced in and the Eastern financial interests flooding in behind those that tamed the last frontier, intent on fencing in everything. The monied interests were defeated in this tale but the free grazers realized their futures were lost so they bought a saloon. That, I suppose, would not be such a bad place to hang it up; a place to drink away lost dreams.
With mankind comes complexity. Man brings with him big dreams and corruption and fences. Lots of fences. When mankind runs out of fences, he walls off people through division and hatred, economic class, educational credentials, and crackpot theories that a three-year-old could better create with the probable result not nearly as childish.
A misanthrope I am not. I really like people. I like all of you guys out there. I love my wife and children and Mom and brother, the in-laws and all of those who through misfortune find themselves related to me. And friends of mine, again my fortune but maybe not theirs. But give me my druthers and I’m out on that range where my mind is clear and my intention pure. I try to live by the words trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. I was an Eagle Scout, after all.
I try my hardest to do a good deed daily. I always try to be prepared. I consider myself a conservationist, not to be confused with an environmentalist. I believe man is the steward of our land and we are to keep it as close to its natural wonder as possible with an eye to making the world a better and easier place for all mankind to strive.
I believe in a hand up, not a hand out.
I believe history is in the past; it can’t be changed but it can be learned from. Some may interpret it differently but facts are stubborn and can’t honestly be distorted.
If there’s a mistake made—regardless the severity—you fix it and move on. Don’t place blame and don’t allege grievances. What’s done is done and you move forward from this moment and don’t make the same mistake twice. Regardless your appearance, your sense of self-worth and/or identity, and your vision of the world, you are an individual. You are responsible for your actions and reactions. That’s all you really can control and it is by which you’ll be judged.
Justice must be blind and it is not a moveable concept. Injustice usually isn’t blind; it can be insufferable and humiliating. But reverse injustice cannot be tolerated. You must believe that in the cosmic world in which we live, justice will always be served. You may never bear witness to this process but it is a certainty, just as the earth rotates daily bringing with it darkness but also light.
And none of us should suffer fools nor liars.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools that don't have brains enough to be honest.”
Your word should be your gold. There are cultures that celebrate cheating a fellow human. Our culture once celebrated that a handshake sealed the deal; that each was bound in honesty that the agreement would be met, regardless of future circumstances.
There are a great number of men and women across the world that recognize we live in dangerous times. There have always been despots and devils but now they command the majority of institutions with which we must interact daily. If we are to search for the qualities of a good leader, the Scout Law is the best place to begin. Follow Benjamin Franklin’s advice because the majority of our politicians and executives lack the intelligence to lead us from these troubled times and all they understand is treachery and falsehoods—fools all.
If you want to know who should be followed, ask one simple question: Do they promote your freedom or do they want to fence you in?
Don’t let them fence you in.
As an aside, Roy Rodgers launched a chain of Roy Rogers’ fast food restaurants. There was a stand-alone in front of one of the most exclusive shopping malls in the nation, the Galleria in Houston; it’s where all of the ultra-wealthy from South and Latin America shop. This was just around the corner from where my grandparents lived. My grandfather took me there when I was a child. It was pretty cool because they had a fake chuckwagon in the middle of the restaurant—I don’t think the burgers were any good, though. Needless to say, Roy’s didn’t make it there (but I can’t believe it but they still live!). It became a burger place, I think, for a bit and then it became The Zone d’Erotica, a “high-end” sexy lingerie shop. Roy and Trigger, would be blushing. It’s a taqueria now.