EDITOR’S NOTE: Dorothy Bradley and Doug James wrote the following piece out of a belief that Westerners and, in particular, Montanans, can do better in rallying around the values that transcend our differences and shape an identity rooted in place. While neither thinks of themselves as a bard, balladeer nor rapper, Bradley says there’s a little bit of each in the piece below. Appropriately, Park County, Montana painter Robert Spannring, renowned for his work behind the easel (especially portrayals of river valleys), has allowed us to use several works as illustration. Enjoy. —Todd Wilkinson
By Dorothy Bradley and Doug James with paintings by Robert Spannring
We all love Montana.
But our politics is looking bad.
No wonder.
Some political races resemble cage matches.
Who will draw the first blood.
It’s a gut-wrencher. It ruins television. It ruins dinner.
We can do better.
Don’t let the the hate move you out.
Jump in.
It will make a difference.
You will make a difference.
We all love Montana
towns – Wolf Point, Three Forks, Whitefish. . .
Volunteer.
Knock on doors. Pass out cookies. Share a beer.
Listen to people. Listen to people.
Be the change you want.
We all love Montana
rivers – Musselshell, Ruby, Dearborn. . .
We are neighbors.
We watch the same sunsets. We walk in the same wind. We attend the same games.
When the election is said and done, we will all still be here.
Still neighbors.
Believe it.
We all love Montana
mountains – Granite, Hyalite, Crazy. . .
No political party – no person – no leader – has all the good ideas.
Or all the bad ideas.
We are better together.
We are a force together.
We all love Montana
flowers – lupine, lilac, fairy slipper. . .
Remember what our parents taught us.
If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.
Listen more than you speak.
The loudest is a bully.
The close-minded is a bore.
Laughing is infectious.
Read.
Hug a lot.
Be the neighbor you want.
We all love Montana
birds – meadowlark, redwing, bald eagle. . .
So we have high expectations for candidates. Of course we do.
Support candidates who let us know them.
Who want to know us.
Who have a vision we can all share. All.
Who love Montana.
We all love Montana
wildlife – wolverine, beaver, fawn. . .
When candidates go low – when they don’t tell the truth – when they use secret money –
Reject them. Period.
Go enjoy your day.
We all love Montana
ways of life – farmer, teacher, entrepreneur. . .
We worry about Montana – our people (all our people), our land, our water.
We must learn from each other.
We want debates.
Many. All around Montana. Polite.
Support candidates who talk to us. Who hear us.
Who ask questions. Who answer questions.
Real answers.
We all love Montana
roads – To the Sun, to Broadus, through Paradise…
Imagine an important race for an important office.
Public debates in every county seat.
All 56.
What we would learn.
What the candidates would learn.
What the winner would know.
Democracy.
We all love Montana
ghost towns – Bannack, Nevada City, Castle. . .
We want candidates who help us seek our future so we won’t become our past.
Who understand why we love Montana.
Who don’t beat the drums of ugly.
(We all know ugly.)
Celebrate the joy of discussion— the joy of each other—
the reward of facing problems right now – together.
Altogether.
We all love Montana
people – Apsáalooke, Irish, Norwegian…
If our leaders behave badly, make change.
Make rules so we are productive.
Sit in alphabetical order –
like the delegates to our Constitutional Convention
who worked as one—
Sprouted new friendships, coalitions, respect, and a beautiful document.
We all love Montana’s
rights – right to our dignity, right to our religion, right to our privacy. . .
We have a Montana Legislature. Not a Republican Legislature. Not a Democratic Legislature.
Those gone-but-not-forgotten family values – you don’t always get to have your own way.
(But you get to represent your own way).
We all love Montana.
So get involved – like our democracy depends upon it.
Be respectful.
Ask yourself if your mother would approve.
Get in the middle and celebrate the struggle, the progress, the exhilaration, the opportunity.
We get to live in this Montana we love.
We get to walk in the wind – to ski the snow – to share the sunsets.
Give thanks.
Take a long look at the real Big Sky – our Big Sky – and then get to work.
Don’t miss this moment. This beautiful moment.
This moment that we get to work together if we will grab it.
Dorothy Bradley is a former eight-term Montana Representative in the state legislature and is retired in Clyde Park. Doug James is a writer, retired attorney and advocate for smart public policy. Robert Spannring is known for his naturalistic portrayals of Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. All are conservationists.
