11 November is the time the Empire sets aside to honor its soldiers. The men who have bravely fought for liberty deserve to be honored. There have been many that have given for the honor of Texas and the nation. I applaud those men and their families.

I want to also bring up some facts of Texas history that also need attention on this day. World War I distracted people from the events that occurred in Texas. In the years leading up to the war, Texas experienced race riots in Brownsville and Houston. The Houston riot being the worst in the history of the State. There were 30 invasions of Texas from Mexican Nationals who were holding to the Plan of San Diego. These are serious matters. It was also a troubling time.

The courageous Congressman James Slayden spoke out against President Wilson and his plans to drag Texas and the other States into war with Germany. He was joined in his stand by Texas Congressman James “Cyclone” Davis, who spoke out against the proposed draft. The Congressmen were ignored and Wilson continued through with dragging the nation into war, where many brave sons of Texas died. Despite the opposition, when the nation calls, Texas answered. Texas A&M sent more volunteers than any other college in the nation. 198, 450 Texans volunteered for Wilson’s War. More than one third of those men died, not from enemy gunfire, but from the flu they were exposed to. Despite the effort these men put forth, their native State remained under occupation, and they were not given their independence like other peoples were. It was not by accident that the Sons of Confederate Veterans released the first Grey Book since the desire for independence and resentment of Yankee occupation was still strong. Many questioned the loyalties of Southrons. The book was published to show that the South would do its duty, which it did and was rewarded with an invasion of illegal immigrants.

It never seems to fail that when politicians get into a jam, they use wars to distract the people from the real issues. Wilson did it, Roosevelt did it… The war drew attention away from many of the issues in Texas, and focused it on Europe. While the attention was on Europe, Wilson removed the quotas on immigration from Mexico (like Roosevelt did in World War II, and others are currently seeking to do). It was a classic case of while the cat is away, the mouse will play. That influx in the aftermath of the border invasions sent the wrong message then and now. The Veterans need to be honored, as well as those who stood in opposition to the war and the draft. We also need to be on guard against relaxing immigration while the troops are away. We also need to vigilant to the issues going on with the home front, since wars distract the people from the real issues, like the current economic meltdown underway. In many ways the sub-prime crisis has been another case of the government rewarding irresponsible behaviors and then wondering what happened. Government involvement in ‘fixing’ a problem is a guarantee to make it worse.

Free the South! We deserve freedom as well. At Versailles, many regions were given independence. It was good enough for South Africa, Canada and Australia after the war, why was it not good enough for the South? Texans and their Southron brothers in arms continue showing good faith, but the occupational government won’t let us go or let go of its controls. It won’t let the States govern themselves by making and enforcing their own laws.

Free Texas!

J Murrah

Brownsville, Brownsville RIot, Camp Logan Riot, Canadian independence, Culture, Current Affairs, James Cyclone Davis, James Slayden, Plan of San Diego, Political Well Being, President Roosevelt, President Wilson, South African independence, Texas A&M

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