The best of the West

Over the past few months, I read an assortment of award-winning Western novels. I chose this genre for reasons (explained at length here). Along the way, it has led to a discussion of faith and of violence (and ‘anti-violence’).

My operating theory is that Westerns make an excellent hunting ground for a vision of America. What is it that America should be? And how is it that America/ns should behave in order to achieve this goal? These two questions can be answered through ‘values’ - specificall...