The stars are bright and they shine all night
Have you ever felt that something was right because others felt it so? There are places and ideas that are firmly rooted by centuries of social agreement. Some places revere local sports teams. Others share similar religious feelings. Lawyers in Texas identify themselves as Christian lawyers. They say "don't mess with Texas" and "come and get it". They share an personal identity rooted in their state. Texas pride is similar to the pride you encounter in the proudest towns and cities. As a free standing phenomenon Texas pride is inspiring. It reminds me of the national pride one encounters when visiting a country like France or Italy. Texas pride is racist in its original fundamental historical basis. Texas overthrew Mexico in part out of a desire to shed the useless Mexican central authority. It also overthrew Mexico to grow slavery and steal land.
Don't Mess With Texas. Texas was never defeated in the Civil War. Texas was expected to provide the confederacy with a guerilla force that would torment the Union for decades. In many ways the fundamental origin of ideas and ways of thinking is irrelevant. Why? The people who are held by ideas and ways of thinking often have no idea where their ideas come from. The phenomenon as it is today is not as it was before regardless of its origin.
A case in point was the Houston Trump rally of 2018. Why were there so many Hispanic fans in the audience? Why were there a surprising number of African Americans? Because Trump has in a short time come to define a way of thinking for a large part of the population. This does not mean that people are admiring his rhetoric. Rather that support for Trump is becoming a way to show community solidarity. Minorities who may have been excluded from the community in decades past are now invited to chant "don't mess with Texas" along with everybody else. In order to be everybody else rather than a minority the minorities must embrace the social agreement. Trump the brand has been able to quickly sink into the fabric of certain cultures. A multi-cultural Texas will be rooted in a social agreement which includes conservative values, political conformity and Texas pride. Given the invitation to participate, how many formerly excluded minorities would say no? Given the cost of exclusion can you really blame them?
And here we are...
