Together Like a Puzzle with Pieces Missing
Opinion column: The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily refl ect the opinions and viewpoints of The Examiner.
The start of the Winter Olympics gave me a renewed feeling of something bringing us all together as a people. The five intertwined rings on the Olympic flag symbolize the five continents and represent global unity, friendship and sportsmanship.
As a nation, we of course have our own U.S. pledge of allegiance which mentions “one nation” and “indivisible” in its text. And here in Texas, we have a state pledge that dates back to 1933 and originally spoke of honoring “the Texas flag of 1836.” That’s right. Originally, it wasn’t a pledge to the current lone star flag, but rather to the Republic of Texas flag. The Texas pledge has been edited several times, including the removal of the reference to the 1836 flag some time in the mid-1900s.
As someone who attended public schools in Houston, I never knew there was a Texas pledge. We never said it. And my experience is not isolated. Many of my contemporaries have the same recollection of not reciting a state pledge in school.
Having left the state starting in 1990, I returned in 2005 to find a Texas pledge firmly entrenched and a somewhat fervent effort to have it recited as frequently as possible. The Texas pledge also mentions “one and indivisible” and is pretty tame compared to other state’s pledges, some of which require its citizens to pledge their life to their state (e.g., Alabama). It’s also been pointed out that most of the states that currently have a state pledge were part of the confederacy, the losers of the American Civil War.
All this symbolism of unity on display every day, and yet our most recent state legislature took it upon itself to enact laws with division at their core. These are laws that are intended to codify morality as defined by the current majority, a laughable endeavor when you consider that the effort is by a group that collectively has little claim to any moral high ground. Year after year, scandals are aplenty on both sides of the aisle.
Further, the state legislators have left enforcement of its morality laws to the citizens of Texas, asking neighbor to report on their neighbor, family to turn in their family, and students to turn in their teachers. There is even a financial incentive offered to the party who is ratting out his neighbor. This enforcement tactic is not new. It was used fairly recently by Germany during the period leading up to the second world war. Apparently, our legislators were absent from school the day that was taught. Spoiler alert: that whole thing didn’t turn out too well for Germany.
The “unity” being generated from the state of Texas appears to be that we are “one and indivisible” so long as you think, act and believe like “us,” the current majority. Do otherwise at your own peril. And liberty and ammo for all.
Incidentally, the U.S. pledge would be better if we added three more states. Because 53 really is indivisible.
Johnny McNally is Grimes County’s Best Dressed Businessman advocating for Grimes County and writes a bi-weekly column for the Navasota Examiner.