Everything's Bigger in Texas

The IMAX presentation of Texas: The Big Picture at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum focused on the renowned message that “everything is bigger in Texas.” The memorial at San Jacinto is taller than the Washington monument and our capital building is taller than the United States capital. From the size of our state fair to the size of our Texan pride, this state gives our existence a sense of meaning and leadership aside from other places. The picture focused on the overall image of Texas, concentrating on traditions, history, and even the weather. Its message was that Texas’ size, diversity, and distinctive heritage make it the greatest state in the nation. While the Texas Spirits presentation focused on the image of the lone star, Texas: The Big Picture depicted a multitude of things uniquely Texas to get its point across.

The presentation argued that the size of Texas is one reason residents here have such grand dreams and extravagant pride. Texas is bigger than England and France combined. It is the second-largest state in America (but no one even lives in Alaska, anyway). It can be almost a full-days travel from Brownsville on the southern border to the tip of the Panhandle. An area of land that large makes it seem that just about everything in the world is happening in Texas at the same time. Brownsville could be sweating out 90 degree days while Lubbock is getting snowfall. Texas is the only state that can boast beautiful pine forests, swamplands, sprawling plains, mountains, and a rolling Hill Country. The vastness of Texas and the abundance of its resources was the primary incentive for Anglo immigrants in the 1800s. Texas appeared to be a land of its own, and people were willing to give up their lifestyles in other states and forge something new in the rugged terrain of Texas. Texans also deemed their land a place worth dying for, as Tejano and Anglo patriots rose up in arms against the General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in 1836.

Just as the climate, resources, and landscape of Texas shaped the state’s destiny during the nineteenth century, they are still affecting modern Texas and its role in the United States. Oil discoveries in West Texas made Texas a land of black gold, where anyone could make a fortune. Oil holdings even helped finance the University of Texas’s early construction, so Texas’ natural resources have affected me more than I imagined before seeing this presentation. The discovery of the microchip, which is used in everything from personal computers to space shuttles, was made by a native Texan. Because of the role the Johnson Space Center plays in NASA’s outer space expeditions, the first word spoken from the moon was “Houston.” Companies like Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter located in Texas are constantly manufacturing goods that protect our nation. The contributions Texas makes to the United States and the world are incalculable in magnitude, contributing to a feeling that Texas is ahead of the game in ingenuity and discovery.

A focus on Texas history and culture further conveyed the presentation’s appeal to Texan pride. The movie mentions the harsh Texas landscape that proved difficult to conquer by early settlers, making Texas a land built by the toughest people around. An eclectic group of people, from Mexicans to Georgians to Chinese immigrants created the population of Texas and laid the foundations for our modern cultural diversity. The war for Texas independence, culminating in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, established Texas as a republic which would soon after become internationally recognized by several European states. Texas is the only state which before entering the Union was its own nation. That feeling alone inspires a sense of superiority for Texas over residents of other states. The cultural, racial, and religious diversity our state boasts develops the feeling that anyone can be a real Texan if they live their life, their dreams, and their attitudes big. While the battles that established Texas as a republic are long over, that era of war has been replaced by a new one, regarded by outsiders as the real form of religion in Texas: football. On both the high school and collegiate levels, Texas has perhaps the most competitive football around. Southlake Carroll High School and Lufkin High School are currently in the top five high school teams in the nation. The Big 12 Conference includes the University of Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M, all of which have been or are currently ranked in the BCS top 25. In the 1990s, it seemed like the entire world wanted to be Dallas Cowboy fans. Texans breathe football. The illuminated fields on Friday and Saturday nights usher in a new generation of Texan warriors on the battlefield; there they learn all the morals and values Texas stands for. Lessons of courage, determination, and perseverance are taught better on the field than in the classroom. I wrote my passion paper about high school football, so I was happy when the Texas presentation had a large portion of the show dedicated to Bishop Lynch High School football. It made me proud to call myself a fighter for Texas. Young football players are making a name for themselves and their state by showing their abilities on the field.

I could write about how great Texas is all day long. But like the IMAX presentation, there are some time constraints. Everything about Texas is huge, from the hearts of its people to Big Tex at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The IMAX movie definitely illustrated that compared to Texas, Oklahoma really does suck. But the part of the movie that I thought was the most accurate was the following statement:

“81% of Texans believe in Heaven. 92% believe they’re already there.”