Have you ever watched a TV show that made you incredibly grateful to have been born when you were? For me, that show was 1883.
Created by Taylor Sheridan, the man behind the popular western series Yellowstone, 1883 is a prequel that follows earlier generations of the Dutton family.
The series follows the family as they leave Tennessee behind and head west in search of a better future and the promise of free land in Oregon. They arrive by train in Fort Worth, Texas, where they prepare for the long journey ahead.
Now, when I say journey, we’re certainly not talking about what we’d consider a “road trip” today. There are no cars. No gas stations. No Google Maps. No pulling into a drive-thru because you’ve been on the road for six hours and everyone is getting hangry.
Instead, the Dutton family packs everything they own into a wagon, gathers their horses and joins a group of European immigrants and their guides heading in the same direction.
From there, the journey is slow, exhausting and incredibly dangerous. People are lost to disease, rattlesnakes, bandits, drownings and internal conflict. Medical care is practically nonexistent and supplies are limited to whatever they can carry or find along the way.
I won’t spoil the ending because I think it’s well worth watching, but I will say one thing became very clear to me: I would not have made it to Oregon.
Watching from the comfort of my house—with four solid walls, electricity, hot running water and clothes I didn’t have to sew myself—I had a whole new appreciation for just how far society has come.
But, in the same breath, I couldn’t help wondering whether we’ve become a little too comfortable.We’ve gained an incredible amount through technology, and I certainly have no desire to trade my washing machine for a washboard.
But I also think we’ve lost a few things along the way.
We’re more connected than ever, yet somehow it can feel like we’re increasingly disconnected from the people and world immediately around us. We can communicate with someone across the world in seconds, but sometimes struggle to sit through dinner without checking our phones.
I fully appreciate everything I have and how far society has come—probably even more now that I have a better understanding of how difficult life once was.
But there’s still a little part of me that wonders whether, in making everything faster, easier and more connected, we’ve left a few worthwhile things behind.
Would I trade modern life for a wagon times? Absolutely not. But maybe there are a few lessons from the trail worth bringing with us.
P.S. If you’re curious about how long you’d survive on the Oregon Trail, versions of the nostalgic game can still be found online. Give it a try and let me know how far you make it!
