milner79 said:
Four Seasons Landscaping said:
Quote:
settle into the heart of Dixie
You can be proud of being a Texan and realize calling us the "heart of Dixie" is deeply insulting to the truly southern states.
It is insulting to true Texans, too.
I know this has already been said multiple times here, but it bears repeating: Texas is not the South. Texas is Texas.
Now, if you want to talk about the Dixie Chicken, yeah, we are the gold standard ... 50 years running!
Yes it is - it's deeply insulting, especially to native Texans. We are our own region. I was reminded of the letter Bum Phillips wrote on his feelings about Texas. This is just a part of that letter, but it explains it well -
"... Because the spirit that made that nation is the spirit that burned in every person who founded this great place we call Texas, and they passed it on through blood or sweat to everyone of us. You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is is alive in all of us, even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our responsibility to keep that fire burning. Every person who ever put a "Native Texan" or an "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" sticker on his car understands."
Anyone who ever hung a map of Texas on their wall or flew a Lone Star flag on their porch knows what I mean. My Dad's buddy Bill has an old saying. He says that some people were forged of a hotter fire. Well, that's what it is to be Texan. To be forged of a hotter fire. To know that part of Colorado was Texas. That part of New Mexico was Texas. That part of Oklahoma was Texas. Yep. Talk all you want. Part of what you got was what we gave you. To look at a picture of Idaho or Istanbul and say, "what the Hell is that?" when you know that anyone in Idaho or Istanbul who sees a picture of Texas knows damned good and well what it is. It isn't the shape, it isn't the state, it's the state of mind."
"When was the last time you went to a person's house in New York and you saw a big map of New York on their wall? That was never. When did you ever drive through Oklahoma and see their flag waving on four businesses in a row? Can you even tell me what the flag in Louisiana looks like? I damned sure can't. But I bet my ass you can't drive 20 minutes from your house and not see a business that has a big Texas flag as part of its logo. If you haven't done business with someone called AllTex something or Lone Star somebody or other, or Texas such and such, you hadn't lived here for too long."
https://www.thestandardsc.org/michael-reed/what-it-means-to-be-a-texan/
