Sunday, July 18, 2021

Sunday Best: Your freedom is not guaranteed

Texas could serve as a cautionary tale for the rest of America.

In the Lone Star State, some lawmakers are really starting to show their stripes. Over the past few weeks, a spate of legislation — on voting restrictions, abortion access, education and firearms — has caused contention among Texans.

But, Richard Parker argues, those outside of Texas' borders should be taking stock of what's happening there too: "This is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong in America when there is not a strong Democratic Party to check an increasingly undemocratic Republican Party and force it into moderation. Bipartisanship may be a pipe dream, but if America doesn't want to wind up like Texas, it should pay attention to what has gone awfully wrong in the Lone Star State. Democrats everywhere have to get tough."

Otherwise you may, like Mimi Swartz, find yourself waking up in a state you no longer recognize. "If I know anything about Texas for certain, it is that people here do not like being told what to do. We choose freedom," she says. "What is clear is that our leadership seems determined to take it away."

— Jennifer Brown

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