True Texans hold several days sacred: March 2, Texas Independence Day; March 6, the fall of the Alamo, and April 21, San Jacinto day. Texas nationalists remember these days and hope for independence again. But what about Texas legislators?
On San Jacinto day, April 21, 2023, some of us thought about the 18 minutes of battle that secured Texas’ freedom from Santa Anna’s despotic rule. Some of us remembered this day as the culmination of a long series of efforts and sacrifices. I personally hope that when Texas again wins her independence from a far-away dysfunctional government that we again catch our opponents napping.
Let’s have a look at a few social media posts to see how Texans celebrate. We’ll start first with the Republican Party of Texas. Texit activists know that there are two pro-Texit planks in the RPT platform.
Perennial Facebook favorite Traces of Texas posted Sam Houston’s speech from before the battle.
Governor Abbott talked about the “fighting spirit” of the Texians, something he doesn’t seem to have much of himself when it comes to Texas sovereignty.
Dan Patrick referenced the “determination and bravery” of the Texians. Dan doesn’t seem to be determined to do much for Texas independence.
Briscoe Cain referenced that the victory at San Jacinto made Texas its own country. Mr. Cain himself didn’t sign on to HB 3596 which is working to do the same thing, to make Texas its own country.
Among the other legislators referencing the holiday were Drew Springer, David Spiller, Ed Thompson, Robert Nichols, Lacey Hull, Bryan Hughes, Ben Bumgarner, Dustin Burrows, Charles Schwertner and Nate Schatzline. Jeff Leach couldn’t be bothered to come up with original pro-Texas content, but he did re-tweet the Traces of Texas post.
Everybody wants to be a patriot until it’s time to do patriot stuff. While having leaders who remember San Jacinto is slightly better than having leaders who forget, even better would be having leaders who are willing to take risks to achieve Texas independence. The days of independence-by-war are thankfully past. Now we have the opportunity to achieve independence through the political process. All we need are politicians who are willing to try, and all that it takes to get willing politicians is persistent constituents. To join the effort, start by indicating your support.
Special thanks to Stacey Pauley for the social media work behind this post.