TRUTHE: ‘Oh, Toto! — Where Are You?’

OPINION

Somewhere between the wide-open plains of Texas and the marbled halls of Washington, something sacred has been slipping away — our sense of truth, our courage to call out lies, and our duty to defend what’s right.

Across the country, voters have started to wake up.

From New York to California, Americans are saying “No more” to the arrogance and self-dealing of those who treat the presidency like a personal fiefdom. They are rejecting the strongman politics that mock our democracy and insult the decency of ordinary citizens.

But here in Texas — the land of independence, grit, and hard work — too many still sit silent while the powerful twist the law and use fear as a weapon.

When will Texans, of all people, say enough? When will we admit that the so-called “King of Oz,” and his Texas counterparts, have turned public service into self-service — hiding behind curtains of falsehood while tightening their grip on our freedoms?

They threaten journalists, muzzle dissenters, and use lawsuits and prosecutions to punish anyone who dares to speak up.

They talk tough about liberty while trampling the very rights our forefathers fought for — the freedom to speak, to worship, to gather, and to disagree without fear.

Meanwhile, ordinary families bear the brunt.

Wages stagnate. Health care vanishes. Schools starve for funds. And the political class dines off the public trough, prepares to dance in a grand White House ballroom and feeds itself while the rest of us tighten our belts.

Our Congress? Too many of them — left and right — have forgotten their backbone. They’ve surrendered their duty to the Constitution and the people who sent them there.  

Congress has been effectively neutered.  

If Washington won’t do its job, we the voters must. It’s time to rip back the curtain, just like Toto did in “The Wizard of Oz,” and expose the fraud for what it is.

That little mutt had more courage than half the politicians strutting across today’s stage.

When the tailgate drops, the bullshit stops…”

Charlie Croker in Tom Wolfe’s ” A Man in Full”

Every Texan knows the value of plain talk and straight dealing. We’ve never bowed to bullies, whether they wear crowns or cowboy boots. Now we must prove it again — by voting for those who defend our freedoms, not those who trade them for power.

Our democracy isn’t a stage play; it’s our home. And like Dorothy, we’re aching to return to a place of fairness, decency, and truth. But getting there will take something more than ruby slippers — it will take courage, conviction, and the voice of every proud, clear-eyed Texan.

Oh, Toto — where are you?  

Maybe Toto is right here, inside each of us, waiting to pull back the curtain of empty promises and falsehoods, to remind the world what Texas grit really looks like.