Throughout the first half of the 20th century and even into the 1960s, the demographics of Texas consisted of a largely rural population. Diligent and dedicated to middle class values, Texans of that era were almost all Democrats. The spaces between the cities were scarcely populated and the inhabitants lived by sparse means. The two major metropolitan areas of Texas have always been Houston and Dallas. For those Texans from the countryside who aimed to seek their fortune in the promise of a city, in general it was the folks from the northern part of the Texas who migrated to Dallas while those from the southern region tended to favor Houston.

Deemed the most ecological beautiful site in the state, Austin, nestled in the heart of the central hill country became the administrative center of the state and later the home of the University of Texas. As such, Austin remained for years a modest town with a population of about 50,000, the largest part being bureaucrats and students. There was an unjustified arrogance about the tainted city people from Houston and Dallas who were known to mock the people of Austin as country bumpkins. Indeed, the endearing charm of the capital city in those days was its lack of pretension. The Austinites possessed a distinctive naiveté. There was a warmth, openness and simplicity in their spirit that characterized the good American of the 1950s.

Brewing in the humidity of Houston’s heat, the corporate oil companies raised their ugly heads higher and higher in the 1950s. George Herbert Bush, cognizant of the riches to be gained in the booming oil business, relocated from the east coast of the U.S. to the far west of Texas in the year of 1948. He quickly became a millionaire and the Bush family cunningly transformed themselves into Texans. The family may have very well adopted the state as their very own, but every authentic Texan knows that both George and Barbara are really Yankees. Son of George senior, cocky George W. appeared, first with his west Texas baseball team, Los Arbustos. Some years later the absurdity was made complete by his illogical election to governorship of the state.

The unfortunate truth however, is that by the time George W. had become governor of Texas, the golden era of the good Texas Democrat had already passed into the annals of history. With the ever increasing influence of the oil Cartel in combination with America’s unrelenting dependency on oil, the political force upholding Texas had several years since already become a Republican. The corporate magnates and the powerful oil lobbies prevailed. Money talked and the people walked. Walked out the door into the cold.

Of course Bush is not solely entitled to credit for the demise of the image of Texas on the world stage. There are obviously a host of other characters in this play; but the truth is that George W. Bush, in becoming President of the United States is star of this tragic spectacle. It is he who has led the country down its infamous and dubious path creating further disdain for the American government throughout the world, carrying the reputation of Texas with it, and making not only the state but also the entire country despised by a large part of the world.

The mockery of the city folks from Houston and Dallas toward the people of Austin has come full circle. George W. Bush, in all his arrogance and blatant stupidity, has made the entire state of Texas a mockery to the world. It makes me ashamed to be a Texan, but above all it deeply saddens me to comprehend the damage this president has done to the image of our country. It is damage that will take nothing short of a miracle to rectify.

Is Barack Obama the panacea? We can only hope with all our fortitude that this unique individual can begin to we change the direction of the United States so that Americans feel more confident about the future. It is a mighty undertaking that Senator Obama has on his shoulders should he be elected. A battle for the United States presidency against the wealth of Republican America will undeniably be formidable, but I believe he is up to the task. Obama does represent change, and change is what America must have.

Part 2 to come...

Adventurous spirit at heart, Mitzi is oginally from the rock and roll music capital, Austin, Texas. She has pushed her way around the globe from an eleven year sejour in Paris to currently teaching in Asia. Although a hopeless Francophile, she can now be found strolling in a picturesque little fishing village on the coast of the East Sea, where she is writing and teaching English. For her complete bio, click here.

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