In the olden days of the Wild Wild West you didn't want quiet/dignified/classy. You wanted crass/loud/bullyboy authority. Do we still?

I don't know, but always learning something new. I thought it was only on tv. Thank you for sharing! 

I like to think that people generally have evolved to appreciate and understand why we need people of all kinds, strong and brawny, (not that that describes many of these absolute right wing nut jobs who think men are superior to women, most of them are weedy creatures with a huge insecurity chip) and equally we need intelligent, artistic and inventive types... There's room for all and the very idea that all men should be wife domineering macho types is seriously out of date... 

Since I have not studied the leaders of the West before my time, I couldn't tell you what their personnas were like.   I don't think people who ran a town were necessarily wild and wanton.  Some were, some were not.

some people seem to want that, i dont

I would debate your premise.
In fact, much of the "wild wild west" wasn't.
Why?  Because towns that wanted to grow, knew they had to attract women and families.
And many of those women who came west to settle, played a large role in leading their communities.

Then, as now, the "loud and boisterous" grabbed the headlines - because it wasn't the norm.

I'm too young to remember.

When I lived in the Wild Wild West, I liked things quiet, dignified and classy. Albeit, it wasnt in the old days, but i suspect i would have chose the same position if it had been.