Goodbye to Texas?

 

There’s a song called, “Leavin’Old Texas.” The cowboy/singer laments that they’ve roped and fenced the cattle range,“and the people there are all so strange.” Well, it’s true—the open range isfenced, the mythic days of the cowboy are gone, and some of the people in Texasare purely strange now.

But when a writer friendposted on Facebook that she didn’t understand why anyone would live in Texasand not leave, let alone move there, I jumped to our state’s defense. Possiblyshe was referring to the strict abortion restrictions, so much in the news withthe Kate Cox case recently. Or maybe she meant the absence of gun control—no training,no screening, no license. Want to carry a concealed gun? Be our guest. Orperhaps it’s the troubles at the border with record number of illegalimmigrants last month. Maybe it’s the restrictions on what can be taught inclassrooms, from kindergarten through college—don’t even think of mentioningDEI, which is now outlawed. (How you can outlaw an abstract concept is beyondme, but Gov. Greg Abbott has managed it.) Maybe she meant book bans—we lead thenation in the number of titles marked for “consideration” or actually banned.There are many reasons to leave Texas for states, even countries, where thereis more personal freedom and you are not forced to accept the state doctrine.(Does that echo of Nazi days? The state doctrine? Yes, it does).

I haven’t seen statistics onhow many people leave Texas because of our extreme right-wing politics, but Iknow from personal experience—friends who have thrown their hands up in the airand said, “I’m through. I’m leaving.” Often they are couples of child-bearingage. And new corporations? Again, I don’t know statistics, but I have heard ofcompanies that refuse to relocate here—despite our attractive tax laws andother incentives—because employees with families would not follow along.

I credit Texas’ disastrous reputationto Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton.I’m not sure what fascination these men hold for Texans, except perhaps thehabit of voting Republican and a blind, inbred of fear of Democrats that makesit hard to pull any lever, mark any ballot except the red one. Why would youever vote for a man who puts razor wire in a river to injure and kill people?Or who sent poorly dressed, hungry migrants by bus across the country to anorthern city where no provisions have been made for their unannounced arrival?If you live in a small town or rural area, why vote for a man who desperatelywants to close the school that is the center of your community? It makes nosense.

But I digress. When I readthat post, angry as I am at our state government, I immediately felt defensive,compelled to leap to the defense of Texas. I am not a native Texan, but I havelived here almost sixty years, and my two careers—as an author and as apublisher—have relied heavily on the history and literataure of this state. Ifeel invested in it, and I’ll be darned if a mean little man like Abbott isgoing to ruin Texas for me and my family.

There’s so much to treasureabout our state, politics aside. We have, I suspect, the most varied landscapein the 50 states. In Texas, you can go from beach to mountains, from the stark,spare country of South Texas to the lush high plains. We have forests andpastures and rolling hills and vast expanses of empty land. Texans value theirhistory—okay, we now pretty much agree much of the Alamo legend is in largepart myth, but there’s still valuable history in the basic story. And in Sam Houston’sRunaway Scape and defeat of Santa Anna’s troops at San Jacinto. There’s historyin the early cattle drives and the gradual shift from an agrarian to an urbaneconomy in too much of the state. We have a proud and strong literary tradition,with writers who chronicled Texas history and wrote their own versions of it,from J. Frank Dobie and his pals to Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, and ElmerKelton. Women writers too—Sarah Bird and Sandra Cisneros come to mind. Dr. RonTyler has given us several books documenting important artists of our state. Texasfood, once mocked as brown food, can compete with upscale servings across thecountry. We have James Beard award-winning chefs and upscale restaurants with offeringsfor the sophisticated palate. We also have Tex-Mex, chili, barbecue, anddown-home food.

Enough singing the praises ofthe state I love. My point is Texas is too wonderful to abandon to the narrowminds of right-wing politics. I am not leaving. Greg Abbott was not alwaysgovernor and will not always be. I will stay to fight his inhumane policies,joining such groups as Mothers Against Greg Abbot, the Texas Democratic Party,and Beto O’Rourke’s Power to the People and speaking out whenever I feel theneed. Texas needs to regain its proud reputation, and I want to help. How aboutyou?