A tumbleweed rolls across the range. The sunset paints red and orange across the sky. The cattlemen can be seen driving the herd down the trail to Dodge City. A coyote yelp is heard and one rancher says, “Cowboy up.”
“Cowboy up.” Just a little cowboy lingo, but a phrase we should live by, especially here on the South Plains. What does it mean? It is the ethic of the cowboy. The phrase means independence and self-sustenance. The phrase “cowboy up” is in direct opposition to the current state of the world.
In the world, we focus on rights, entitlement and personal aggrandizement — not responsibility or altruism. Cowboys do not depend on others to provide them with necessities. They take care of business and remain independent to government, organizations or even from each other.
This is not to say government programs are bad or that any time government attempts to alleviate suffering the effort is doomed to fail. Sometimes government help is needed and the measuring stick for a society is definitely the status of the worst among them. However, this does not mean all should benefit from governmental interaction.
He who cowboys up will not allow the government to provide for him, when the cowboy can provide these services for himself. Whether this refers to health care, college tuition or even food, the cowboy will take care of all the problems he can. In other words, the cowboy believes almost every man is capable of carrying his own weight in the camp and expects all to try to do so.
If the cowboy ever finds himself in a situation where he needs help, he makes even with his benefactors. The debt must be repaid or else the cowboy will no longer be the independent figure he has always represented. This sort of honesty and integrity is not found in the world much, but is deep to the heart of the West Texan. The honor code of the cowboy means responsibility.
Interestingly, many of the problems in the news today refer to the United State’s responsibility to foreign powers. The cowboy knows the United States must act, whether against oilmen taking up the range in the Middle East or squatters trying to seize power in Afghanistan.
Not just related to politics, “cowboy up” also refers to personal life. It means supporting tradition. The cowboy does not find ways out of common courtesy and respect. Opening doors for others and not spitting in front of women and children has nothing to do with the oppression of these groups. It has more to do with the way of the cowboy. We could all be a little more courteous and respectful to each other (Warning: This may include shunning technology and having a decent campsite conversation with another).
The cowboy sometimes must be brave and split from the group when he knows they are headed in the wrong direction. This is a hard life, but the rewards are great. However, this is not common. Usually, cowboys are a band of brothers, and they support each other as they may without becoming dependent on each other. The cowboy, however, knows the difference between cooperation and interdependence. He avoids parasitism.
The cowboy has a connection to the land and the herd, and hates to see either damaged. He would defend it to the very end. Defense of the traditional life is part of the cowboy ethic, and no self-respecting cowboy would allow any ideology or “–ism” change his way of life.
There are lots of lessons we can learn from the cowboy. We can learn self-respect, personal responsibility and the role of the individual with the community. We can learn to cooperate but yet remain independent. We can learn ways to support our community and our way of life. We all should learn these lessons, being immersed in cowboy culture here on the South Plains. Let us be like the cowboy. Let us cowboy up.
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