The Lone Ranger Had Good Life
Lessons But Bad Gun Advice
By Cary Kozberg. July 21, 2023
Like my male contemporaries growing up in the 1950s, I watched TV Westerns. Of all the cowboy heroes I followed, my favorite was The Lone Ranger. To this day, there are moments when listening to The William Tell Overture (TLR’s theme song) will deliver a quick uplift. Inevitably (and unashamedly), I will shout “Hi-yo Silver!” and continue reciting (in my best announcer’s voice) the opening monologue:
With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early West. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear…THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN!”
The TV cowboy heroes of the 1950s were heroes because they were exemplars par excellence of “the Good Guy”—knowing Right from Wrong, seeking to preserve Justice and Goodness, and always willing to help those who needed help. Today we call such individuals “sheepdogs.” The code of a true “sheepdog” is accurately reflected in “The Lone Ranger’s Creed”:
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