It’s midsummer. So let us talk of skunks. 

Here in Colorado and across the country we are seeing people reasserting their fundamental right to shape their lives, their communities and their future — in several important ways. 

What’s that got to do with skunks? 

One of the blessings of Colorado summers is we can often have the windows open, particularly at night. Yet occasionally we are accosted by a distant — yet unmistakable — smell of a skunk. We might get up and shut the window. More often, we tolerate it, and it abates. 

That’s the way many of us deal with the daily parade of oddities, annoyances and irritations we get from politicians and their policy choices.

But increasingly we have the intolerable experience my friend had. 

We met for coffee the other day and he shared the story of how he had to let his dog out in the middle of the night and, sadly, his dog encountered a skunk.   Startled, the skunk did what skunks do. 

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Suddenly a placid night was destroyed as the dog, the house and all the residents were redolent with the acrid odor that seeps into every crevice, everywhere. This is a drop-everything red alert — a total focus on de-skunking everything and everybody. 

For years, we have tolerated the distant odors of odd, offensive and retrograde politicians, whose policies have eroded the basic fibers of our society. 

But when the stink gets up in our nostrils, it’s intolerable. The in-your- face stench of dysfunction, dishonesty and a deep disconnection between the elected and citizens causes a wide range of reactions. 

In the Democratic Party, the foul odor of antisemitism was sprayed with the sweet smell of decency, when two pro-Hamas legislators were tossed back into the fever swamp of left-wing irrelevancy from which they emerged.

And in the GOP, two weird, self-serving, bombastic and mean-spirited candidates got dusted in congressional primaries by well-qualified, solidly conservative candidates — who are also deeply normal. The final straw was an over-the-top anti-LGBTQ blast email from the state Republican Party — with the goal of aiding the current party chair who was also running for Congress. That email urged the burning of Pride flags with the moniker “God Hates Flags.” Even some longtime Republican activists who have consistently objected to the expansion of the gay rights agenda said this was beyond the pale. 

There is now a possibility this skunk may get tossed out of his chairmanship.

But the reaction is not only political.  

A national story this past Sunday detailed how many prominent conservative intellectual leaders, who had for decades operated from various universities and think-tanks in California, have decamped to more congenial climes. Why pay taxes in a state continually hostile to your values and your worldview?

For some, that means Texas. For others, it’s rural America — whether the northern Rockies, or the deep red parts of the American south.   

For others, it’s voting with their feet to new schools. It’s been amply chronicled pandemic-driven online schooling caused a number of parents to recoil at what was – and wasn’t — being taught. Fortunately, in Colorado we parents have several choices — a different traditional public school, a charter school, magnet school and many others. 

A survey by School Choice Week found this year 72% of American families considered changing schools, and 44% made the leap.

One of the most popular options is a complete break with the style, curriculum and worldview of most public schools: classical education. 

Classical schools – which can be found throughout Colorado and often are faith-based but also include secular programs institutions – harken back to a far more rigorous, in-depth curriculum based on the progression from Grammar through Logic to Rhetoric. Schools often use “great books” as the foundation for learning and place an emphasis on developing strong character in students. 

Serious, challenging stuff.

A study by Aredia Education shows there are now 677,000 students enrolled in some form of classical education, including at 1,551 schools nationwide. The numbers are expected to grow significantly.

Whether we are irritated by elected leaders, state and local policies, kids’ schools or any other facet of life, we don’t have to settle for griping “this stinks.”

Go find the fresh air of normalcy — and freedom.

Sean Duffy, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens, is a communications and media relations strategist and ghostwriter based in the Denver area.