Posted on 03/06/2005 2:45:53 PM PST by B-Chan
...Texas is not merely a piece of land with a particular history and government; it is an idea -- the idea that Godfearing people should be left alone to do as they will on their own land. We here in the Lone Star State still believe in the romantic idea of the Hero -- the individual who stands alone against those who would dominate him, the man who values freedom under God over any other earthly wealth, and the man who is willing (and even eager) to fight and die rather than submit himself to the rule of the outsider. But the Texan's idealization of liberty is no sterile Objectivist celebration of selfishness; it is rather an individualism born of altruism, a desire to challenge and fight the dictator and the savage and the well-meaning foreigner who would impose a foreign way of life on those we love.
Europeans tend to misunderstand Texas because our masculine, heroic ethic is increasingly foreign to them. Heroic defiance is something no longer comprehensible to most educated Europeans, to whom the feminine virtues of compromise and cooperation are the guiding stars of social operation. However, to those outside the mindset of the feminized West, it is a way of life that is instantly familiar. It is no mystery why Nimitz conquered the Japanese: he was a Texan and he understood the defiant spirit of the Japanese warrior. There is something very Japanese about the Texas spirit. We understand the bushido ideal very well. This is why Texans revere the heroes of the Alamo and Goliad; to us,as to the Japanese, there is nothing more noble or worthy of admiration in this world than the small band of warriors surrounded by a hostile army, standing back to back with swords drawn and smiles on their faces, eager to die fighting for their honor. To those who feel the rightness of such a spirit, no explanation of it is necessary; to those who do not, none is possible.
Texas is not a state; it is a state of mind -- the romantic Heroic ideal made manifest. To be a hero is to be a Texan, no matter where one physically lives. To fully understand this is to grasp the essence of what has made and will always make Texas and Texans unique among the nations of the world.
Written on the anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo, 6 March 1836.
What about New Hampshire? Just asking...
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Thanks for the ping.
You must not be from Texas?
Less than 4,000 Mexicans populated their Texas territory, while they let in over 24,000 settlers from the USA. Why would any government be this stupid? Because they wanted to collect tax revenue on land that had been empty and useless to them, and they wanted the colonists to act as a buffer between the Mexicans, mainly settled around San Antonio,and the Commanches, whom the Mexicans rightly feared.
I can't believe our stupid government is repeating Mexico's mistake in letting in all these immigrants, but if you don't know history, you are cursed to repeat it, they say.
You're not from around these parts are ya'?
I love Texas and Texans!! I lived there for thirty years then had to move due to job options. I miss the state and its wonderful people, but more than that the IDEA of Texas !! This state fought for its independence..the people worked hard to make the state and keep it going in the early days. Any American worth his salt should read the history of Texas and understand what it took to make Texas happen!! It is all part of America to be sure, but a really wonderful chapter!
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