This article was updated on 7/13/2015 to change the word “ended” to “ends” in paragraph five (5). A link was also added that will take the reader to an article in The Guardian by Tom Dart in the event that they want more detail on how Texans are reacting to this U.S. military training exercise called “Jade Helm.”
According to an article in The Washington Post by Kevin Sullivan dated July 4, 2015, folks in Bastrop, Texas believe that President Obama has laid plans for the United States military to invade Texas. According to the article, the Bastrop county Republican Party Chairman said that these people are not “nuts and wackos” but are concerned citizens who are patriots.
My first thought when I read the Washington Post article was that these were just a bunch of “nuts and wackos” in one county in Texas who simply could not let the anti-President Obama bandwagon leave without them. But then I read this article that said that a poll taken by the University of Texas/Texas Tribune revealed that nearly half of Texans fear a federal military invasion. Say what?!
I have heard that “Don’t mess with Texas” slogan many times before; it made me shiver when I heard it then and it still makes me shiver when I hear it now. Why would they fear a lil ole US military invasion? Isn’t everyone and everything scared to mess with Texas? Everybody knows that there is plenty of macho floating around in Texas and anybody who wants some can get some: remember when Bush 43 said “bring it”? He was referring to any adversary who would dare to challenge the United States: or maybe he was referring to any adversary who would dare to challenge Texas. Anyway, that’s macho…it’s probably a lot easier to flaunt it when you will not actually be the one who has to back it up but it’s still macho.
I found the whole thing to be laughable until politicians like Republican Governor Abbott of Texas and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a junior Senator from Texas, began to weigh in on the issue. Now it was not quite so funny because although it was just a matter of these politicians pandering for votes, for those who truly believe this nonsense it only adds fuel to the fire. They do not look upon the kind of action taken by Governor Abbott and the kind of comments made by Senator Cruz as simply playing politics.
They do not look upon the Governor’s placing the Texas National Guard on alert and having them monitor the Jade Helm 15 military exercise by the United States military in Texas until it ends for fear that they might try to invade Texas as mere politics. They do not look upon the statement that Senator Cruz made in Salon as mere politics:
“My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise,” Cruz said. “We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”
If you would like more detail on how Texans are reacting to this military exercise, which is scheduled to begin on July 14, 2015 you can click on this link; Texans monitor Jade Helm military training amid fears of government plot.
These are people who already harbor things about President Obama that may sound absurd and like nothing more than foolishness to most reasonable people but to some – like those who believe that there is a real possibility of an Obama-led invasion of Texas, actions and comments like those just mentioned by high-level, supposedly credible elected officials only reinforce their nonsensical thoughts.
What Governor Abbott and Senator Cruz have done is just another example of how far our politicians have wandered off of the beaten path and why all of us as American voters must remain vigilant and always remind them that they are in office first and foremost to represent the American people and our interest and not to be on a never-ending campaign to be reelected.
The best and possibly only way that we can effectively do this is through fulfilling our civic responsibilities among which is voting. There is no doubt that there will come times when we will be inconvenienced by the demands placed upon us by these civic duties. But when we are tempted to gripe and complain about these inconveniences, at those times let us never fail to reflect upon what our predecessors passed through to win the right to have those duties and the right to the franchise. That will make what we must endure to fulfill those duties become much easier to bear.
Finally, always remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!
Eulus Dennis