Texans like to emphasize their exceptionalism by emphasizing that they are from Texas when they are in a foreign country. Texas has been independent much longer than any other state. Over time, it acquires its own uniqueness, becoming less and less like America and increasing the potential to become a country of its own.
Texas has everything you need that a country has. There’s an ever-growing population, and many people choose to settle in Texas from other states or foreign countries. Ivins states: “South Texas is 80 percent Hispanic and a weird amalgam of cultures. You get names now like Shannon Rodrigues, Hannah Gonzalez, and Tiffany Ruiz”. Texans will not only mix with Hispanics but other races as well. People are contributing to the melting pot that is growing at a fast rate. Texans are being exposed to other people’s traditions, and practices as Ivins states, “Texas is a mosaic of cultures, which overlap in several parts of the state, with the darker layers on the bottom”. Some choose to join a new religious faith they never heard of. Texans are becoming more diverse, unified, and slowly accepting each other’s differences whether it being religion, tradition, practices, and one’s different characteristic features.
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The cities are expanding more and with it the infrastructure. Texas has the biggest infrastructure and “handles two trillion worth of commodities per year (CNBC)”. We have enough land to accommodate the population and grow our food. There are different restaurants in every block of the city or town. Ivins states, “Culturally, Texans rather resemble both Alaskans (hunt, fish, hate government) and Australians (drink beer, hate snobs)”, but to say that people like to drink in the state is broad. Texans not only love to drink but also have a barbecue, especially on holidays. People blast their music and light up fireworks or when nothing is going on, one goes out to a bar and plays at the pool table or just gamble. Another activity Ivins forgot to mention is that Texans participate in is sports, people love cheering for their favorite team, and passing the passion on to their children. Anywhere you see a United States flag, one will most likely see a Texan flag right alongside it.
People affiliate to Texas heavily and do anything to remind people that they live in a proud state. For example, the Texas flag is the only state that can fly its flag at the same height as the United States flag (Study.com). Texas is also the only state that makes students say their state pledge every day (Study.com). Texas is also referred to as ‘The Lone Star State’ and has a proud history. There’s the Alamo that rallied all Texans to join the fight for independence, the first word spoken from the first man on the moon is Houston, and the state has plenty of oil. Texas has a lot of flat land with many crops, and wind turbines, and is the leading producer of wind power, and has created many jobs for Texans, which makes the state more independent (Wikipedia).
Texas is becoming more democratic each year with a steady stream of immigrants moving in and young people coming of age and voting. In ‘Is Texas America’, Ivins states, “We'd like to think the race is over in Texas, but of course East Texas remains an ugly, glaring exception”, there are still people who do not want to accept others for their differences but Texans are becoming more accepting with each generation. In a state crisis Texans come together, people have gone through many floods, tornados, and hurricanes. There have been horrific events that have taken place at schools and has brought the state together. For example, when Hurricane Harvey hit the state, many Texans sprang into action to help one another, there were citizens with boats rescuing one another, people giving what they could or helping rebuild.
People love to embrace the Texan cultures. There are many shops with Texan merchandise and restaurants that are themed like the old west. In many cities, there are still people that ride horses, cities decorated with an armadillo, horseshoe, and cowboy. Ivins states, “The first real Texan I ever saw on TV was Boomhauer from ‘King of the Hil’, the guy who’s always drinking beer and you can’t understand a word he says”, but Texans are not the only ones who drink. A Texan is one who is hard at work, saying ya’ll constantly, mounting a bull, and going to a rodeo or riding a horse.
In conclusion, Ivin's title ‘Is Texas America’ is misplaced, because the exceptionalism of Texas is obvious. It is this exceptionality that ‘gives’ it the potential to become a country of its own, and not just to be similar to America. Texans often fly the Texas flag outside their homes rather than the United States flag, and the state has many aspects that make it independent. There is so much clean land that cattle can be seen far away. Texas has plenty of oil to sell to other countries and grow the economy. The state has been facing hurricanes, floods, tornados, and has made Texas though, and independent.
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