The Vanguard
City versus country. Urban versus rural. City folk are different but that is what makes country folk special. Country people have certain values that city people have let go. In the country, everyone is your neighbor. Your kids go to the same school, they play on the same ball teams. You see people you know at the grocery store, stop and say hi. City people have neighbors, but they aren’t neighborly. Neighborhoods are ruled by HOAs; someone on the block will turn you in for the slightest infraction. People you see at the grocery store will never be encountered again. Liberal versus conservative.
I’m not particularly fond of labels, I don’t like being pigeon-holed into certain factions. I want to be independent minded. But the political landscape today forces us into one of two camps - liberal or conservative, and Texas has become a microcosm of our national political landscape. The urban metropolitan cities reflect increasingly liberal policies while rural country towns counter with conservative policies and ideals. Urban centers in Texas are like the East and West coasts of America while our rural communities are like the “flyover country” of the Midwest. We are the vanguard of rational thinking and policy.
In times past, the rural counties west of I-35 were not so significant. Urban populations and representations out weighed all of West Texas. Our votes just didn’t add up enough to matter on the big issues. But not anymore. The voters of rural Texas counties proved their worth in the 2018 Senatorial race between Ted Cruz and Robert “Beto” O’Rourke. Rural counties voted heavily for Cruz (80 - 85% in most cases) that provided Ted with a narrow victory over the fake “Beto” O’Rourke. West Texas is the vanguard against liberalism.
But the battle continues. Thousands of people are moving in to the metroplexes from all over - an unintended consequence of a growing Texas economy. Most come from liberal states, bringing their liberal ideals with them. Cities are changing every day with more bureaucracies and tax burdens for liberal, politically correct propositions. Time is becoming more crucial each day. West Texans, it is up to us to stem the tide of liberal thinking. Your children need to know and understand the values you hold dear as they leave home for college and jobs outside of Young County. We cannot allow the progressives to gain any more than they have as they influence the young and inexperienced. The liberals are scheming fo turn Texas blue come 2020. Our state depends on West Texas. We are the Vanguard.