I’m a lifelong Texan and therefore am free to confront and criticize my home state especially when I’m deeply concerned about the political direction it’s going. The recent mandate for Bible readings (teachings) in the public schools, along with the required Ten Commandments poster in every classroom, and criminalizing girls and women for abortion—meaning imprisonment and (if I’m reading the pecan leaves right) capital punishment someday—has sealed our backwoods’ notoriety, right up there with Arkansas doing away with journalism in their public schools.
This state’s determination to yank every child and female into fundamentalist Christian living is … uh … mmm … not well thought out. It’s based on fear that’s been mounting for decades, a knee-jerk reaction to something perceived as our most southern state changes demographically from white majority to minority majority, and the transition of public tax-supported schools into ‘woke’ learning centers embracing all religions and sexes and sexuality. Because of all of this, real and imagined, our predominately white male state legislators and education commission have catapulted Texas into a national and international laughingstock.
But none of this is a laughing matter, not to those of us who live here.
I knew Texas would want to mete out punishment for females who have an abortion, for whatever reason by her or her doctor. The law says it’s a crime, now for the teeth. And, of course, it’s punishment only to females—never the males who most likely carelessly impregnated them.
The stance against abortion is not about religion and morality. It’s about control. We used to live in a nation and state that allowed females to determine for themselves this very private matter—away from the scorning crowds and histrionic know-nothing male legislators and political candidates. But more voters elected what were called pro-lifers until finally 50 years after legalized abortion nationwide, it was quickly returned to a crime by half the states including Texas.
But abortion couldn’t be illegal, a crime, without a consequence—one that would teach little ladies to never go off getting themselves pregnant again. See, that’s how young people today think: The problem is not abortion but pregnancy. So Texas really screwed (pun unintended) this one up. Old white male legislators do not have a clue how young people think in this day and age. Most young people today have no intention of ever having children, which means never getting pregnant. This is the mindset of a determined youth. As for girls say age 10 or 12, they have not lived long enough to determine the direction of their lives. A lot of sexual abuse by father figures leads to pregnancies of girls. As for another age group, grown women at the end of their child-bearing years who used to have the right to abortion, 50- to 55-year-olds, what a Texas-size mess for them. All the things that go wrong during a pregnancy, and here in Texas women are supposed to grin and bear it.
We know it’s not fair. It’s not right. And this issue is no one’s business.
According to the Good Book
Soon our lil Texans will be quoting Bible scripture and telling Bible stories like it’s 1955.
It ain’t. Half or most American families don’t go to church anymore. The pandemic and digital technology changed everything about our modern society’s commitment to church and with that perhaps church teachings.
Today a public school is visibly a multicultural learning environment. There’s always been white flight, so the well-off families who managed to move into a predominately white Christian school district may be unaware of city schools in America. Schools in Texas, with its wide open spaces, are predominantly Hispanic and Black. Whites have feared that evolution for a long, long time—before most of us were even born.
Multiculturalism was supposed to be what America was all about. It was supposed to be the ultimate goal. A good thing. What made us different and better and stronger than all the other nations on earth.
Well, in Texas, that dog won’t hunt. Instead, white leaders have absolutely freaked out over the growing numbers of students who are Muslim. The U.S. recently had two long wars in the Middle East. This is always what happens after our wars: We bring in lots of families from those countries. We did it after Vietnam. We did it after WWII.
But the hatred, suspicion and ignorance of anyone who is not a ‘5th-generation’ Texan (must also be white and Christian) has opened the door for mandated religious indoctrination in the public schools. When Christian nationalism courted the Republican Party, the purpose was to ensure any and all government entities would be notably Christian—whatever that is supposed to mean.
If Christian governance means following the Golden Rule, we’d treat others as we want to be treated regardless of race, religion, culture, sex and sexual identity.
If Christian governance means adhering to the teachings of Jesus Christ, we’d love our neighbors like we love ourselves. Our neighbors are not just those who live adjacent to us but, duh, are everyone on Earth.
If Christian governance means following another teaching of JC Himself, we would not judge others (because we’ll be judged ourselves). [I am referring to abortion and the certain public shame, scorn and imprisonment our state leaders desire to be the consequence of thousands of females trying to live their once private lives here in Texas.]
So the 2026 Texas leaders—elected or appointed to represent all Texans, not just the ones who funded their campaigns, lest they forget—have got what they’ve wanted: an enormous state where children quote Bible mindlessly and eventually grow up to live as self-righteous, uptight, judgmental and downright mean hypocrites.
Ain’t it always the way?