The Alamo, Childishness and The Apostle Paul

Opinion

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. – 1 Corinthian 13:11

I can’t think about the Alamo without thinking about Davy Crockett. This was long before I knew he was a politician and congressman. Long before I knew he sacrificed his political career to oppose Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act.

The Myths We Tell Our Children

Davy Crockett was one of my childhood heroes. I had the coonskin cap and a rifle I called Old Betsy. I did not know much about Crockett other than what I knew from Fess Parker and The Wonderful World of Disney.

I was like a lot of Texas boys. Houston, Travis, Bowie all of the heroes of the Texas Revolution lived in my mind like ancient heroes of some tragic myth.

Growing up white in Texas there were a lot of stories Texans taught their children. Not all of them accurate or even true.

My grandfather once drove by Sabine Pass with me and told me that was where “our boys made the Yankees turn tail and run.”

This is a fond memory, and makes a great story. It was even true as so far as it goes. The Yankees did turn tail and run and never took Sabine Pass during the Civil War.

But that does not say anything about the long history of the nation, and the complexity of the politics, culture and events that led to the Battle of Sabine Pass. It was a story, an event without context.

I remember once believing the Sons of Confederate Veterans were about heritage not hate and that Robert E. Lee was a great general and a great man.

We Don’t Live In Neverland

These were childish notions I have since cast aside, even though there is some truth in them. An adult can recognize and even honor what is true in a story or history, so far as it goes, but still understand and appreciate that there is more to it than that.

As adults, we can recognize the importance, and even honor, the (accidental) achievement of Christopher Columbus and its importance while still acknowledging the resulting and tragic destruction of millions of indigenous people, and thousands of languages and cultures that he brought with him.

As adults we can also recognize, even celebrate, the importance of the events that took place in Texas in 1835 and 1836, while at the same time acknowledging the complex and larger motivations of the revolution–including economics, slavery and a struggle for Anglo dominance over indigenous peoples and the Spanish culture of Texas.

When I was a child. I thought like a child. I understood like a child. I said childish things.

But when I became a man I put away childish things.

We are supposed to put away our childhood toys eventually.

But Republican leaders keep dragging the old toys out of the closet and insisting that every adult in Texas play with them.

I loved my coonskin cap, but I threw it away long ago.

Buckingham’s Alamo Tantrum

According to the Texas Tribune, on Columbus Day the Alamo’s X (formerly Twitter) account put up two posts. One was for Columbus Day. The second recognized Indigenous People’s Day.

It said, “Today we honor Indigenous Peoples and their communities, recognizing their history at the Alamo.”

Another post said, “Opening in 2027, the Alamo Visitor Center and Museum will feature an Indigenous People’s Gallery, celebrating the bands, clans and tribes that shaped the region. #IndigenousPeoplesDay”

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who’s agency oversees the Alamo, angrily shut such talk of indigenous people down. The Columbus Day post survived. The others were swiftly removed.

On October 14, Buckingham released an angry letter to The Alamo Trust Board Members. Buckingham made clear that “woke has no place at the Alamo.”

I found this quite humorous. “Woke has no place at the Alamo.

Alamo is Spanish for cottonwood tree. The Alamo, a former mission dedicated to conversion and salvation of indigenous peoples by the Spanish, in a place inhabited by native peoples for thousands of years, in a town called San Antonio de Béxar.

According to Buckingham’s view, only the thirteen days encompassing the siege and the unnecessary annihilation of 189 men is the only thing worth commemorating out of the 307 year history of Mission San Antonio de Valero.

The men who fell at the Alamo were not heroes. They were victims of the inept decisions of foolish commanders.

Travis disobeyed a direct order by General Sam Houston to remove the artillery, destroy the fort and retreat from San Antonio to join up with the Texas Army.

He was caught with his pants down when Santa Anna rolled into town after a forced march through winter and took the Texans by surprise.

If Travis had survived, he should have been court-martialed and shot.

What Buckingham lacks in a sense of irony, she makes up for with sheer historical ignorance.

I can only assume she has never traveled Texas only UNESCO World Heritage Site the Missions Trail in San Antonio.

Everyone should go visit. You will never see the Alamo the same again after visiting Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada.

Dan Patrick Throws Another Fit

If this wasn’t enough, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick decided to pile on calling for the resignation of Kate Rogers, Executive Director of The Alamo Trust.

Patrick called for Roger’s ouster over her doctoral dissertation in 2023. He claimed the dissertation expressed views at odds with Republican state leaders political ideology about the Alamo.

Because politics trumps facts right now, Rogers resigned.

According to the Texas Tribune, the offending language in Rogers dissertation described the conflicting demands of state Republican politicians who want the focus to be on the 1836 battle and local officials who wanted to tell the full story of the site, including its beginning as a home to indigenous people.

Rogers wrote, “Personally, I would love to see the Alamo become a beacon for historical reconciliation and a place that brings people together versus tearing them apart, but politically that may not be possible at this time.”

Apparently Rogers was the only adult in the room.

History, Culture, Memory And Childishness

Buckingham and Patrick behaved like children.

Texas and its history are rich, complex, diverse and fascinating. Understanding it is like peeling through the layers of an onion.

It takes an adult to appreciate it fully.

The history Buckingham and Patrick, and others, want to tell themselves is a story for children. I know. I loved it as a child. But there comes a time when we have to put away childish things.

The way Buckingham uses the word “woke” is meant as a derogatory insult. It is intended to demean and suppress freedom of thought, speech and historical curiosity. She and Patrick want to promote a political ideology, not history or examination of the truth.

They need to grow up.