Maybe country isn’t the right word to use, but it’s own unique region within the US, like Quebec in Canada, or obviously Puerto Rico?
I am from Spain, and we know about the different and unique regions in Spain. The same applies in Italy, Germany, and of course the UK. All our regions have our own history and differences, even if we are all in the same legal country in 2023. Bavaria, Catalonia, Sicily, and Scotland are examples.
Does the same apply in the US for Texas?
25 comments
Kinda sorta, but not really.
It’s complicated.
The US has many different regions all with their own differences. However, Texas is just another state like any other state. We are all basically the same. When I travel to Texas it’s mostly just the same as being at home. If someone challenged the US, Texas would stand with the rest of us.
No. Not at all. They are no different than the other 49 states.
lol no
No.
Every state is unique and has its own history and differences.
No more so than any other state.
No it’s a standard US state.
In the mind of a Texan, maybe. In actuality, not really more than any other state.
No, its just the second biggest state (FIGHT ME)
Nope
Bavaria is probably a pretty good, although not perfect, comparison.
Native American Reservations say hello, they are sovereign nations within the USA.
That would be California (jk). In all seriousness, the entire southwest attains the same cultural affinity of Northern Mexican/ Spanish influence… Texas isn’t an outlier.
Not quite, but I can see why you would ask this.
Texas has a proud, unique identity and culture. But they don’t have a significant language difference (Yes, there are many Latinos who speak Spanish, but English is still the dominant language), and while I’ve never been there, I’m pretty sure most Texans would proudly fly Old Glory next to the Texan flag.
Quebec is the only part of Canada that predominantly speaks French and nearly voted for its own independence in 1995. I know the Catalonians and Basques have strong independence movements. If Texas was to ever vote on independence, I am certain that they would vote overwhelmingly to stay part of the USA.
So, it is a state as others have said. Buuut…
They are a little different than some other states in that their power grid is 100% independent, which is why they’ve had problems the past few years. Other states are connected to each other, so if an area in one state goes out they can theoretically get assistance from next door. Texas intentionally shut itself out so it could not be compelled to render such assistance to other states.
They also have a disproportionate amount of influence in the public school systems of other states. Each state has the right to develop its own school curriculum and what is taught. However the Texas school system is big, making it a big consumer of textbooks, meaning textbook publishers make books that will sell in that market… and then the other states often have to buy those textbooks, which means if one topic is barely touched on in the book, it’s possible it won’t be touched on much in class, even if the other state does think it’s more important to talk about.
To be fair certain other states also have disproportionate influence on the rest of the country, too, and federal policies and laws in some cases.
Texans talk big about how unique they are and some of their more stupid politicians will bluster about declaring independence occasionally, but no one takes them seriously. It’s just theater to pander to voters who don’t like the federal government.
No. Texas is a state in the United States. Yes, some may be more vocal about their state pride than other states, but they are definitely all American.
Eh, not really. Making a big thing of state pride is bigger here than many states, but day to day life is little different. We do have our local historical and cultural touchstones differing from other states, but not extraordinarily more than other states have. You just hear about it more, often even more from other people talking about obnoxious Texas pride than actual Texas pride. There will be some in this thread.
We did do the whole “our own country” thing for a minute, which only a few regions have done, but that had more to do with the US not being ready to let us in (and very probably start shit with Mexico in the process on top of dealing with the slave vs non slave state thing that was a big issue at the time) yet than any big cultural difference. And of course, a short time later they were ready and letting us in pretty rapidly ended in a border war with Mexico and not long after that the slave vs nonslave thing came to a head. Fact is most of the founding Texans were just US transplants who liked the free land but didn’t like the Mexican government so we just took it back home with us before we even had time for that amalgam of Americans to drift much from their home culture.
We are a little bit divisive on the region thing, but that has more to do with being a south/southwest/arguably plains transition zone then being a purely unique thing.
Basically
California, Texas and Florida are the three states that I’ve heard referred to as their own “regions” in that either the climate/geography is different from what surrounds it, they’re too big to be lumped into other regions or they don’t culturally fit in with anything else.
Well, the official slogan of the Texas tourism board is “Texas !!’ A Whole Other Country”.
So, yeah. That’s how it’s presented.
As someone who actually lives here and has also lived in many other states?
There is not much difference between suburban Texas and any other suburbia.
No. If Texas is unique in any ways, then it is as distinctive as any other state in the union. The United States is a Federation, meaning each State is entitled to have its own laws, own culture, and own customs, as long as those practices do not contradict any federal laws. Texas has its perks, but fundamentally it is as American as Hawaii and Massachusetts. Politically speaking, the United States doesn’t current suffer from any actual separatism issues, there might be some very loud minority that calls for Texas independence, but that “movement” has practically no actual influence whatsoever.
Nowadays, Texas is fully integrated to the Union, and there are no major disagreements between the state and the rest of the country, nor is Texas in anyways capable of opposing the federal government. Texas to the US is not comparable to what Catalonia is to Spain, because there aren’t any major cultural, ethnical, or historical divides that are currently very relevant to its relationship with the United States of America as a whole.
I live in Texas, have lived and worked on the west/east coast, and while Texas is more similar to America than different I’ll still say this: Some of the people here saying Texas is “just another state” or “just like the other 49″… Are just coping to your a foreigner. The amount of dixies I’ve heard saying “Texas is more south than west”, and the amount of westerners I’ve heard say “Texas is the west” … It shows y’all. People say “oh they’re just more into state pride” stop, it’s because your state has nothing to make you proud enough to fly its flag, and that’s fine with me. So as a Catalonian, or heck, anyone who enjoys a strong culture, personality and being unapologetically proud of the society you helped create or now enjoy, your place is in Texas.
Every State is “unofficially” its own country. They all craft their own laws, have their own cultures, etc.
No.
And only a small percentage of Texans even want that. Probably more non-Texans would wish this than Texans.