Growing up I was always proud of being from Texas. I was a second generation Texan from my mother’s family and a third generation Texan from my father’s family. My roots and pride in being from Texas ran deeply even when my family moved to California for a time. I enjoyed the reality that my fellow students there listened with a sense of awe as I explained to them what it was like living in what was at that time the largest state in the union.
Eventually I married a native Texan whose family roots stretch all the way back to the Republic of Texas. Together we were proud of our roots and passed down our legacy to our children and grandchildren. For much of my seven decades in Texas I have believed that I live in a most wonderful place.
I travel through Texas with a sense of awe. We have beaches and mountains and deserts and vast open spaces. In the spring when the bluebonnets grow the sights along the highways resemble a glorious azure carpet. I have traveled the world but always wanted to come back home no matter where I have been. I have felt the goodness of the people who live in Texas but for some time now I have been quite confused as to why they vote for leaders who seem to be working against us rather than for us, people who are holding us back and even attempting to return us to an ugly time in our history when segregation was the rule and people were judged by the color of their skin.
Of late the majority governing our state have fallen in line with regressive thinking. Instead of focusing on progress they spend much of their time reducing the rights of women, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. They show preference to certain religions and downplay others. They rewrite school curricula in ways that ignore truth. Worst of all is the reality that many of our leaders bow to the will of Donald Trump rather than to the needs of our state which is threatened by shortages of water and other real problems that are being ignored. When Texas Republicans chose Ken Paxton to be their candidate for the United States Senate I was particularly stunned because his record is as sleazy as such things can be.
Ken Paxton has the gall to suggest that James Talarico, an eighth generation Texan and holder of a Master of Divinity degree, is not a true Texan nor a truly religious man. Ironically Ken Paxton was not born in Texas and only came to my state for college after which he left for a time before returning to run for office. What a joke his time in that regard has been!
Ken Paxton has a long resume of shady behaviors. He was accused of securities fraud and eventually had to pay three hundred thousand dollars in restitution. He has also been accused of bribery and abuse of power. He was present at the January 6, 2020 rally in Washington D.C. that resulted in a riotous attempt to overturn the election results. He has steadfastly insisted that the 2020 election was rigged. In 2023 he narrowly avoided being impeached by members of his own Republican party. His illegal actions in office were reported to the FBI by his own aides whom he fired when he learned that they were accusing him of crimes. Subsequently he underwent a Whistleblower lawsuit associated for his illegal treatment of those aides. After years of admitted adultery his wife filed for divorce. All the while Paxton portrayed himself as a Christian with a level of hypocrisy that truly boggled my mind. Since coming to Texas he has increased his worth to millions of dollars even though he never made a salary higher than one hundred fifty thousand dollars a year.
As a long standing Texan it galls me to see such a shady man being touted by citizens who are being led to believe that he is the good man while Jame Talarico is someone of whom we should be afraid. Paxton hurls silly arguments against Talarico like noting that he eats tofu and that he might even be a trans person even though Talarico’s Texas biography in the Austin area is very clear. It is heartbreaking to me that so many people that I love and respect would vote for a lying shady character like Ken Paxton given his horrific past that includes releasing a convicted pedophile from jail. I really want to know what they are thinking and why they are being convinced to be afraid of a good man but eagerly following an obviously corrupt man.
I would like to believe that when the dust settles in November the citizens of Texas will send James Talarico to the Senate. It is past time for Texas to rely on leaders who will consider the needs of all citizens, not just the powerful and wealthy who gleefully line their pockets. I want to have proof that Texas still deserves my pride and my love. I want to believe in the kind of goodness of Texas that I believe is still there.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 