I was curious once too.
I have never lived in Texas. But I worked remotely with Texans for years, and I spent so much time in the DFW area twenty years ago that it remains one of my favorite places on earth to visit.
So let me try to explain what I learned.
Start with this. In America, everyone is proud of their state. But Texas is different, and here is the tell. You never have to ask a Texan where they are from. They will tell you. Usually within the first two minutes.
Part of it is size. Texas is enormous. You can drive for a full day and never leave it. Part of it is the sheer variety. Real mountains in the west. Pine forests in the east. Beaches on the Gulf. Ranch land, oil country, desert, hill country, and some of the biggest cities in America. Almost every kind of terrain on the continent exists inside one state line.
But the real root is the history, and Texans know their history.
Texas was its own country. A fully independent republic with its own president, army, navy, and embassies. It fought Mexico for its independence and won it on the battlefield, then chose to join the United States as an equal. Six flags have flown over that land. Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States. That was real history long before it was a theme park.
And here is the part outsiders miss most.
When the rest of the world pictures America, they are very often picturing Texas. The ranches. The boots. The oil. The swagger. The TV show Dallas ran for twenty years and exported that image to the entire planet. Texas became the shorthand for America itself.
But here is the thing I love most about Texans.
As much as they love Texas, they love America more.
It is, by almost any measure, the most patriotic state in the Union.
That is the answer. Texas pride is not arrogance. It is a country that remembers being a country, and chose this one anyway. 🦋
The USMNT is serenaded by the crowd in Seattle with John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" after their 2-0 win over Australia.
USA is on to the Round of 32.
📽️: @FOXSports
BREAKING: Five-Star Plus+ CB John Meredith III has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @Rivals
The 6’2 183 CB chose the Longhorns over Texas A&M and Alabama
He’s ranked as the No. 1 CB in the 2027 class on every website🤘
https://t.co/pU8dpck9kU
The World Cup has turned America into a discovery channel for the rest of the world.
And they are not handling it well.
In the best possible way.
Here is what they are discovering:
Free public restrooms. Europeans pay every time.
Free water at every restaurant. Just appears.
Free refills. Coffee. Sodas. Iced tea. Unlimited.
Free chips and salsa before you even order.
Free warm bread with dinner.
Ice in drinks like civilized people.
Air conditioning everywhere. Not a moral debate. A fact.
Parking lots attached to the actual place you are going.
Drive throughs where the food comes to the car while you sit in it.
Ranch dressing by the gallon.
Tex-Mex that cannot be explained only experienced.
Dental care that actually works.
Buccee’s. There are no words for Buccee’s.
Then they found the grocery stores.
Five of them within one mile.
Each one the size of an aircraft hangar.
Burgers. Steaks. Brisket. Ribs. Pulled pork. Lamb. Veal. Every cut of every animal ever domesticated by human civilization available in one refrigerated aisle at ten in the morning on a Tuesday.
The Germans stood in the meat section for forty five minutes.
In silence.
Processing.
They finally understand why we do not have trains.
We have roads wide enough for the cars we actually drive.
Parking lots the size of small European countries.
Airports in every city worth visiting.
Why would we need trains.
The Germans are taking ranch home by the bottle.
The Dutch found queso and briefly lost the ability to speak.
The Japanese are photographing HEB like it is the Louvre.
The Czechs are weeping in West, Texas.
Welcome to America.
Everything is free, enormous, air conditioned, comes with chips, and has five grocery stores within a mile that will sell you any cut of any animal you have ever imagined.
Write that down. 🦋