Texas Has Lost it's Soul

The other day I was reading something about what it means to be a Texan. The writer said “I’ve been here 10 years so I guess that makes me a Texan.” I wanted to say, Oh, honey! Bless your heart!

I was born in Austin in the 1950’s. I grew up in San Antonio through the 60’s and 70’s. Last night I watched a special about Willie Nelson. It reminded me of the Texas of my youth. 

We were an people who were unwilling to be defined. We were not “the south”. We’d never even heard of “sweet tea” or Bucees!! 

We understood that our relationship with Mexico was different than anyone else’s, because we used to be Mexico!! Texas history was a class required to graduate. (I was surprised to discover that other states don’t require their students to learn their state’s history. Who knew it was a Texas thing??)

I hear people talk about Migrant Workers or Guest Workers. I remember people coming from Mexico to work. They would stay for a couple of years, send money back and then go back themselves. They didn’t take jobs citizens wanted. They did the minimum wage jobs that didn’t interest anyone over college age, but it was more than they could make in  Mexico. And they funded our economy!

We weren’t Republican or Democrat. Sometimes it would be a Democrat governor, sometime Republican. No one defined us as some color on the spectrum!

Sometimes I think that Texas has lost its soul. We’ve forgotten who we are. We’ve forgotten our hell raising past and become staid and respectable. 

We love our HOA’s and our mainstream churches telling everyone what to do. We want everyone to look just like us and act just like us. 

We have forgotten our storied past that we learned in school!

We have people who have lived here for 10 years telling us what it’s like to be a Texan!

Things are just going to hell in a handbasket!

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