The Paradigm

Think about it. "I am an American" generally says I live somewhere in the western hemisphere not Greenland, Iceland or Africa. South Americans take some grievance with our claiming and parading of the title. After the '90s it seems our social impulse is to re-define everything.

I wouldn't brag about being a U.S. citizen for the same reason I disassociated myself from Christianity when I was a young teenager: people have given it a bad name. My beloved home state of Texas has suffered a similar fate. Many people in the U.S. look poorly on natives of the Lone Star just as many people in the world look poorly on citizens of the red white and blue. Despite these social realities I maintain my heritage with a decided sense of pride and steadfast purpose.

I believe in liberty for ALL; I believe in [following your bliss/pursuing your happiness/achieving virtue/the path to Nirvana]; I believe in treating your fellows as you would have them treat you; I believe one should not trespass against their neighbor; I believe in taking care of your own; I believe in truth and optimism.

For what I lack in conventional "belief" I maintain in unconventional faith yet this world might term me a heathen. Or it might question my motivations for right action as an irreligious person. Do I need piety to live the life of a good man? Must I embody "redneck" to be a Texas patriot? I could have been raised in many different countries under the ideals of numerous creeds and still taken the same aforementioned lessons to heart.

The most important factor has been that while growing up I took care to think about what people would have me learn. Bear in mind I was raised in central Texas very near folk who would use the phrase "nigger rig" to describe a makeshift application. It is in deliberative thought that one makes the distinction between nonsense and wisdom. Children grow up in the middle east taught to hate another ethnicity on principle alone. The Nationalsozialistische political party took German pride and turned it into a tool for abomination. People in Africa are being shot in the head right now because they are the wrong shade of dark skin. The most sinister histories are written when people are thinking the least.

In light of my observations I am eager to present myself as a Texan. I'm eager to be the example that might challenge someone's preconceptions of what such a person might be. I love the land, I love the strong spirit of the people. My mood sours when I hear some of them move to prevent the happiness of others while citing their religion of love and forgiveness. Just as I love the country of the United States and the opportunity it extends to those upon its shores, my tone darkens when I see people try to deny others "the right" while touting liberty and justice for all. I remind myself that both examples are from the same people who championed buffet religion--and all its insincerity.

The truth is I'm proud to be a Texan. My kind of Texan. The spirit of fortitude with the will to think. The courage to act without the burden of a status quo mindset. Southern hospitality. Manners. All the good things that are not lost. People like me could redeem the image of this nation-turned-state. Raise the standard for what is acceptable conduct. The best part is the lost ones won't see us coming. We say "yess'um" and "thank'y sir." We can talk with a genuine accent. We look exactly the same. And damn it, come hell or high water, we will be upon you.