Texas has a new endangered species of rural legislators, and it’s something that should concern us all. The state faces a water crisis, the loss of family farms, struggling public schools, and a general shift away from local control and Texas values that have made our state unique. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that, at the same time, we are losing independent thinking and rural leadership in the Texas Legislature.
Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, I didn’t fully appreciate how my upbringing would shape my view of the world. Our family had everything we needed, but we also knew what it was like to work hard, struggle, and feel disappointment. My grandparents survived the Great Depression and the dust storms that affected the land we still farm today. It was understood that we lived as if the next crop might not come in, because sometimes it didn’t.
As I sit here today, I know our heritage faces challenges, but the traditions and values that make Texas, Texas are strong enough to guide us forward into the future. What worries me is how easily those traditions can be forgotten in the halls of power. That’s why I call for a return to what I call Dirt Democracy—a framework that has guided leaders since before there was even a Texas Constitution.
