Texans have always been shaped by the immensity of the land and the terrible struggles we have endured to tame it.
We have lived under six flags - Spanish, French, Mexican, Texan, Confederate and American.
The flags may change, but the land stays the same.
During the Civil War, Texas was fighting the Indians in the West, the Mexicans on the South and the Yankees from the North.
We have been akin to Israel in our struggles, beset on all sides by those who would destroy us, and the battle has always been about the land.
Our identity is forever linked to what one Texas writer, Katherine Anne Porter, called our "blood memories", associated with the battle to tame and hold our land.