As I've often said - as a resident of Lewistown
Montana I live in a bubble. An isolated, rarified
yet rather lovely hideaway. Within said isolated
confines one's perspective can be rather warped.
The other day I saw a sign that read "Freedom
not socialism." As if some overwhelming threat
to our democracy was about to attack Fergus
County. When in fact our home turf is the last
place anybody is interested in. Except maybe
the Russians should they want to alter the course
of the nuclear armaments hidden beneath our
rolling prairies and docile cattle. So what is all
of the fuss about? Is rural Montana in peril?
One of our more vocal local politicos tends to
be an alarmist. Hence anybody who disagrees
with his uber conservative stances is deemed
a "socialist". Sadly for reasons beyond my
comprehension many friends and neighbors
share his fears. That everyone is against them.
Plotting to undo the American dream as they
know it. Their worst fear coming to fruition
in that their "normal" is abnormal. As most
of their fellow Americans live in a way that
is their polar opposite. No wonder they're so
afraid of what they see on TV. A world that
is weird, foreign, and different from theirs.
Ignorance may be bliss. But fear mongering
does nobody any good. Recently the same
red herring made a stink about our County
Clerk's recommendation to shift to voting
via mail versus opening polling places. His
trumped up arguments based on rumor, lies,
and innuendo. But why all the fuss? Trump
garnered 73.1% of 6,082 registered voters
(79% turnout) in 2016. Could there really
be some deep state hidden agenda to skew
Fergus County's results? Or are histrionics
the preferred secret weapon of our local
conservatives? Anything but the truth huh?
