Happy Texas Independence Day!

Probably the least PC holiday and, by extension, one of the least celebrated in Texas due to it's over politicization by various groups hoping to make hey with the Texas voter. It's a holiday that shouldn't be forgotten however because Texas' brief dalliance with sovereignty made us the State we are today. (Warts and all)


For my part, I'm proud of what Texas is, a strong state with a strong economy whose success is vital to the health and vitality of the United States of America. That last bit is important. Today Texas is a state regardless of what some secessionists say, and most (not all) Texans are proud to be so. Are we a unique part of America? Yes we are. That's true despite the fact that most of the recent transplants here are trying to remake Texas into the areas from which they came. How quickly they forget that there was a reason they left those areas in the first place.

Anyone who is here now is a Texan, and if they don't know the story of the history of Texas then shame on them, and not the romanticized, sanitized version either. If you can't come to terms with the fact that history is nuanced, that your government may not have always been pure as driven snow then life might seem pretty unfair to you. Yes, Texas was founded by a group of wealthy individuals who took issue with Gen. Santa Anna's taxes. It was the same deal when America was founded, as well as every revolution in the whole of human history. The wealthy outside of the power elite wanted in, they couldn't get in so they fought their way in. Then by virtue of winning they earned the right to write history from their perspective.


Contrary to what many would have you believe this isn't about celebrating a 'win' over Mexico. It's about history, about the struggle for whatever freedoms people thought they needed at the time. Hell, I love Mexico, I'll probably celebrate by downing a plate of Tex-Mex tonight and a frosty cerveza. Any anti-immigrant supporter who makes this out as a Texas vs. Mexico thing is missing one important fact: Many Mexicans agree that Gen. Santa Anna was a grade-A prick.


God Bless Texas.