Where y’all from?

                               "Never ask a man if he is from Texas.  If he is you'll 
                   know soon enough, and if not, you don't want to embarrass him."

I conducted an informal test during our recent trip through the Czech Republic, Austria and Bavaria.  One of the things we enjoy most about traveling is meeting people from other countries and cultures.  Getting to know them and finding out how they view the world helps us to better understand the world and our place in it.  Just as interesting were their views of us and our country.

We had never been to Prague, so we signed up for a couple of tours to better learn about this new city.  In the small groups were people from a variety of countries, and always the first order of business was introductions.  Our first tour had a couple from Manchester, and another couple from India.  After learning about them, they asked what country we were from, and the response was “TEXAS”.  All knew exactly what Texas was and where Texas was located, and the only questions were about what part we lived in, what we did for a living, etc. 

The second tour came with a different guide and a different group.  I used the same answer of “Texas” when asked what country we were from, and the Finnish, Swedish, French and Canadian tour members all knew exactly what that meant.  In fact, we were asked about Texas declaring her independence again in the near future!  This led to a spirited discussion of where Texas would fit into the world economy as an independent nation, and whether the rest of the united states would survive without Texas propping them up.

In Vienna, the same occurred several times, with the same results.  Many of the people in the remote part of Bavaria we visited did not speak very much English, but when they asked where we were visiting from, and the response was “Texas”, there was an immediate smile and a look of understanding.

Being an “American” in today's global society requires explanation.  Your allegiances must be clarified.  Your role, in either contributing to the current state of affairs,  or in trying to change that state needs to be voiced.  In essence, who and what you are as an American must be defined.  Watching unfiltered Deutsche Welle, the BBC and other European news services quickly reveals the depth of concern with which the United States is viewed by what were, in the past, our allies.

Being a “Texan” is well defined and understood by all.

“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.” 
- John Steinbeck