As a native Northeasterner, moving to Texas a year and a half ago was a foreign experience. Not only was it my first time seeing an armadillo cross the road and a cactus growing outside of a pot, it was also my first time being in a state with so much pride in itself. If you are a native Texan, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so let me expound:
First of all, the state flag is everywhere. I've not seen an American flag without the Texas flag right next to it. In the northeast, the only places where I've seen a state flag of any kind is at the U.N. building in New York City or at major official government and international sites. Virtually all I know about my native state flag is that it is blue with little horses on it. Austin is the state capital, so I would expect to see the state flag in various locations. However, Austin is not the only place in Texas where I've seen the flag flying high. On a bus ride to Houston, I saw a house painted with the colors of the state flag and topped off with a prominent white star painted in the center. I've also noticed that outside of Austin, there are drastically fewer American flags flown.
State-specific merchandise seems to be big business in Texas. We've all been to stores and supermarkets selling Texas-shaped cookie cutters, boxes of macaroni and cheese with Texas-shaped noodles and beach towels with the logo "Don't Mess With Texas."
And these types of stores are not meant to attract solely tourists; gift shops and state-specialized stores are all throughout the state and Texans seem to love to shop in them. Besides the stuffed longhorns, sheriff badges for kids and countless books on the history of Texas, I've seen some stores that are comparable to a taxidermy shop. I've seen five-foot-wide Longhorn racks to hang in your living room, tanned cow hides for carpets, chandeliers made of deer antlers - and this doesn't even include the several-hundred-dollar leather cowboy boots.
This is not to say that tourism is not an important aspect of Texas' state economy. The state government profited $22 billion last year from the tourist industry, making it the second-most profitable export-oriented industry after oil and gas. But only half of all the tourist-related profits actually came from tourists. The other half can be attributed to Texas state residents. The only semi-comparative example of tourism marketing on the Northeast coast is the "I love NY" slogan seen all over shirts, bumper stickers and anything else it can be slapped on. An important distinction to make is that New Yorkers do not actually wear these shirts, whereas Texans proudly sport state memorabilia.
I am impressed with Texas' unique enthusiasm for state culture and history. What concerns me, however, is the lack of specific pride for our country by itself. What makes the United States thrive is its pride in its diversity, achievements and rights for every citizen. Yet Texas' tourism industry promotes advertising slogans such as "Texas: It's Like A Whole Other Country." Masquerading behind the famous Texan barbecues and flamboyant cowboy hats, has Texas forgotten that she is a part of the bigger United States? Patterson is French senior.
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