Why do we admire them so?

Indeed, these gunslinging outlaws of the old Wild West were incorrigible. The nasty little buggers! Why, then, do we admire them? Why do we watch the movies about them, why do we buy the books about them, why do we become enamored in their being? These are not heroes. They lack the selfless public servitude of Robin Hood, and they certainly lack the nobility of the knights of King Arthur’s round table.

But there is one hero quality that they do not lack, and that is bravery. However brutal their acts may have been, they were certainly brave in the midst of it all. Nasty little buggers indeed. No matter what anyone did or said, no matter how much gold was tacked onto their heads, no matter how many times they were arrested! No matter what, these frontier criminals resurfaced. They could not be made to think, act or submit to ordinariness like everyone else did.

Yes, it must be that we admire them so much and so dearly for their bravery. After all, what is more admirable than the astounding ability to enter a gunfight without a drop of sweat, or to escape from a wild mob of vigilantes out to put a rope around your neck? Like the Latin root of the word “bravery,” they are barbaric; able to face anything and willing to do anything to win, no matter how brutal or cruel. This must be why we admire them so.

Yes, it must be that we like them so much for their bravery; their astounding ability to enter a wild gunfight without a drop of sweat, or to steal a horse in the night without making a sound. Like the Latin root of the word "bravery," they are barbaric. Able to face anything, and willing to do anything to win, - no matter how brutal or cruel - this must be why we admire them so.