Could the Teton Valley be the Spark for a New American Civil War?

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Your housing costs are high because conservative refugees are looking to ride out the end of civilization.  Sound far-fetched?  Vanity Fair is a magazine I rarely read.  The name oozes some fellow sipping tea with a pinky finger extended.  Or he’s sipping wine while wearing an ascot and evening coat.

Somehow, a story from the magazine ended up in my news feed.  It’s about wealthy conservatives migrating to Wyoming’s Teton Valley and the story references neighboring Idaho and Montana.  The author references plans by Ketchum to house service workers in tents in a community park.  It’s not quite the Gilded Age, but it does show you there’s a clash of sub-civilizations.  The newcomers don’t want to be living in big eastern or west coast cities when the government collapses, and many believe that will happen soon.

Their arrival isn’t always welcome by the locals, even though many share similar conservative politics.  The old timers view the newbies like the Saxons viewed the Normans.  As arrogant, self-centered, and condescending.  On one side are the people who worked in finance or government.  On the other are the people who rope cattle, drive trucks, and drink cold beer.

The new people bring along a lot of money, and with that, they influence and change the priorities of local and state governments.  Some of those interviewed for the story believe the end isn’t necessarily the collapse of civilization, but instead violence between the two groups tenuously trying to find some common ground.

America is an unhappy country and some people losing their way of life, this has happened before in the west and it didn’t end well.