While the geographical diversity might be obvious from the
moment you enter Montana (the flat prairie of Eastern Montana contrasting with
the stunning Mountains in the West), the diversity within Montanans might not
be so obvious. For one thing most Montanans are white. You can’t really say a place is ethnically
diverse because there are Norwegians, Irish and Italians all living on the same
block. Obviously there are some
non-white people groups within Montana but the percentage compared to other
states is pretty low. No, what I am
talking about is political diversity.
Montana has always been and still is a place of radical
political views. Janette Rankin may have
started the tradition when she voted against World War I along with seven
others in the US House of Representatives (and this was before women had the
right to vote nationally). Then she
solidified her place in history, by becoming the only member of US Congress to
vote against World War II. You must
admit that took true conviction!
On the other side of the political spectrum, somewhere to
the right of constitutionalism and the left of pure anarchism, many Montanans
prefer not to interact with the government at all. There are a growing number of
“off-the-gridders” who, correctly or incorrectly, are often associated with the
nationally famous Freemen Militia. These
folks try to live as far away from the US Government’s reach as possible and
apparently the rural areas of Montana are a great place to do that.
Montanans are also prone to making outrageous political
statements. Whether it’s a county
commissioner telling a group of Native Americans to plant their sacred tree
somewhere else because he doesn't want a bunch of “drunk Indians” in his
county, or the governor using a hot branding iron to veto (by fire) the
opposing party’s bill on the steps of the capital, Montanans have no problem expressing their opinions in
extreme and socially unacceptable ways.
Ideas have consequences and I don’t want to make light of
the consequences of some of the above ideas.
Extreme ideas lead to destruction and genocides, but they also lead to
declarations of independence and successful overthrows (violent and
non-violent) of tyrannical rulers. I,
for one, am very glad I live in a state where people say what they think and
don’t pussy-foot-around when it comes to standing up for their beliefs!
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