History Repeats Itself

The Bob Bullock State History Museum houses the essence of Texas history, from the dawn of the Native Americans to the arrival of the space age and the oil era. Throughout the history of Texas, various cultures have come and gone, each with their own set of values and ideals, each a role model as a collective. Some of these traits, I admire greatly and wish to emulate.

The history museum

The entrance to the museum begins with the establishment of the present state of Texas by Native Americans. From them, I learn the meaning of innovation and tradition. The different tools they used prove the creative thinking innate to each human being. They had the ability to turn something as mundane as ever-present stones into incredible tools for hunting, like the arrow points and a four-beveled knife. Tradition comes into play in the artistry of the pots and the beauty of the teepees. The tradition of history itself is passed down through oral narration from generation to generation. Through tradition, the Native Americans strengthen their sense of place of where they are now because of their past.

Native Americans

With the arrival of the Spanish came a sense for religion, an important aspect in my life. Although extremely traditional, the Spanish brought an established religion to a so-called savage land. The presence of crucifixes in the remnants of these civilizations best describes the penetrating effects of religion in the New World. A sense of place in the spiritual world is necessary to keep the various aspects of a human being in tact: mind, body, and soul; therefore, without soul, the being is incomplete and unable to function.

Spanish in the New World

Hard work I learned from the ranchers and early frontiersmen called “vaqueros” and “tejanos”. Imagine moving to a barren land: scarce resources, distant water source, lack of food, and void of social interaction. Yet, early ranchers still managed to get by through farming and raising livestock. They even managed to create a system of aqueducts to water the field. It definitely takes courage and determination to move to a desolate desert and start anew and that is definitely an aspect I admire about these people.

Personal vision was taught by the Anglo settlers as they fought for freedom. “[The Mexicans] were met with a defiant ‘come and take it’ as citizens led by John Henry Moore fired at the troops. The Mexican soldiers withdrew.” The vision of a “Republic of Texas” empowered the settlers to rebel against the grandiose Mexican army in the hope of succeeding. They envisioned a hope for freedom and carried it out without fear. “Victory or death,” William Travis said at the battle of the Alamo. Just think. How many of us today are actually willing to sacrifice life for the preservation of vision? We hardly hear about political and social martyrs of our day. The establishment of the Republic of Texas is their vision coming to completion. “If you want something done, tell a Texan he cannot do it.” Seeing a vision accomplished, after numerous struggles, is a trait I have a high regard to.

Vaqueros

The last trait I learned in that museum is the sense of exploration and curiosity. “Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice. The birth of the space age gave America the initiative to lead the world in the first moon mission. After arriving, Neil Armstrong said on July 20, 1969: “Houston…the eagle has landed.” Without this sense of exploration and curiosity, Texas would never have been a hub for oil.

Man on the moon

History, however, does not simply end here. It keeps on unfolding in itself each day. The Texas spirit, after all, resides in all of us guided by the Lone Star of Destiny.