Lies about history in Texas can be traced to the Lone Star State’s own Big Lie: The Alamo

Yet many Texans feel they need the Alamo story. As one of the authors of Forget the Alamo stated, the myth speaks to what many Texans desperately want to believe about their state: that it arose from heroic circumstances, and that there’s a reason Texas is special. This includes the current crop of Republican Texas legislators.

Instead of allowing critical thinking and a serious examination of the historical record, Abbott and his allies decided to go the despotic route and unilaterally declare the false mythology is now fact. In a move that critics decry as a pure expression of fascism, the Texas governor requires his “patriotic education” to be provided at state parks, landmarks, monuments and museums. Additionally, a pamphlet about Texas history, devoid of any negativity, is distributed to anyone who receives a Texas driver’s license.

As part of Republicans’ war against critical race theory, another new Texas law severely limits how teachers can address slavery, the Holocaust, or other “controversial” topics. The Texas law requires “multiple perspectives when discussing widely debated and currently controversial” issues. —Daily Kos

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Published by
Dennis G. Jerz