You don't have to be Texan to join New Texas Republic!

Shamelessly stolen from a LiveJournal entry, this obviously applies to the pre-Galactic Civilizations Texas:

When you're from Texas, people that you meet ask you questions like, "Do you have any cows?" "Do you have horses?" "Bet you got a bunch of guns, eh?" They all want to know if you've been to Southfork. They watched Dallas.
Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas with me just for a second. That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast, and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas.
Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?
In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride in a pickup. There is some bit of Texas in everyone. Did you ever hear anyone in a bar go, "Wow...so you're from Iowa? Cool, tell me about it?"
Do you know why? Because there's no place like Texas.
Texas is the Alamo. Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom.
We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Crockett and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes. John Wayne paid to do the movie himself. That is the Spirit of Texas.
Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Ana at San Jacinto. Texas is Juneteenth and Texas Independence Day. Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest. Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend. Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country. Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas and Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.
Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork. Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico. Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, and the Astrodome. Texas is larger-than-life legends like Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Denton Cooley and Michael DeBakey, Sam Rayburn,, Lyndon B. Johnson.
Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq. Texas is NASA. Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops. Texas is skies blackened with doves, and fields full of deer. Texas is a place where cities shut down to watch the local High School Football game on Friday nights and for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and NIOSA River Parade in San Antonio. Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities. If it isn't in Texas, you don't need it.
No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas.
By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Pine Tree High in Longview at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet.
Do you know why?
Because we place being a Texan as high as being an American down here. (It is the only state that was a republic before it became a state that's the reason I was taught.)
Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington, D.C. and we can divide our state into five states if we want to! We included these things as part of the deal when we came on. That's the best part right there.

Again, I must ask: Whats the point of having a regional empire if anyone can join? Its not just you, same goes for the ANZACs, Euros, and Canadians. Why call yourself something if your members arent going to be from there?

It is the idea of being in support of the region and the spirit of the region. If you absolutely hate Texas, then maybe it isn't for you. It's kindof like how you can join Greenpeace without being Canadian, or like French mercenaries fighting against the British on the side of the Americans way in the distant past (there were a few of 'em)...

The idea is a central unifying theme and what it stands for.

Interesting historical sidenote: The original contract for the Virginia colony stated that it was to go due west and diagonally northwest until it hit seawater. Virginia eventually voluntarily ceded the vast majority of its claim to the U.S. government.

Take a look at a map. That's virtually all of the Continental U.S. except for the northeast, the "traditional southern" states (east of Texas), Texas itself, OK, AZ, NM and southern CA. Plus Alaska and most of Canada. Or in round numbers something at least 20 times the size of Texas.

Perspective is everything. I calmly await the flames.

P.S. Note to MWC viewers: I believe that Iowa's culture is endlessly fascinating.

As a Texan, there is no way in hell that I would join the Canadians. I think the opposite could be said of my RL Canadian friends LOL

~SDC~

You don't have to be evil to join the Evil Empire! Actually you do. So become evil and join us .

-Nand1, your friendly Evil Recruitment Officer

you don't have to be a southerner to be an ANZAC 'Publican!

Remember da Lamo!

Sadly, I can't become a Texan. I don't own an SUV or a full-size pickup.

Ever try driving a 2-door sport coupe on the highways around Dallas/Ft. Worth? Surrounded by "passenger" vehicles slightly smaller than a school bus? Talk about claustrophobia.

As far as Virginia's claim, so what? Texas belonged to Spain at that time. And Texas was a battle-won and internationally recognized republic after that - something virginia could only achieve with a small portion of its original land claim and the help of 12 other colonies.

Long live Virginia! Another interesting comment on Virginia...West Virginia is actually legally still part of Virginia. WV left the commonwealth at the start of the War of Northern Aggression without Virginia's consent.

Not that we really want it back... LOL

Oh, wait...this is the Texas thread! Sorry for the hijack!