I’ve always had a tremendous respect for Texas and the role it’s played in shaping America’s brand and backbone. Texas is the frontier of America’s grit and innovation. And Texans? Always willing to push into new territory, and never one to let outsiders define their story.

Let’s Talk Military & Sacrifice…
• The Alamo (1836): Texas fighters held out against overwhelming Mexican forces, becoming a symbol of defiance and sacrifice. “Remember the Alamo” is American shorthand for dying on principle.
• WWII & beyond: Texas sent huge numbers of troops—over 750,000 Texans served in WWII, more per capita than many states, with major bases like Fort Hood and Lackland Air Force Base anchoring national defense.
• Modern service: Texas continues to be one of the highest-contributing states for military enlistment.
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How About Frontier Spirit & Expansion?
• Texans carved lives out of a tough frontier—ranching, oil drilling, surviving drought and boom-and-bust cycles. That grit is central to the American myth of westward expansion.
• Texas annexation (1845) and its role in shaping the U.S.-Mexico border defined America’s territorial backbone.
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Economic Backbone…
• Oil and gas: Texas discoveries (like Spindletop, 1901) fueled America’s rise as an industrial and military power in the 20th century.
• Agriculture & cattle: Texas supplied food and beef during war and boom times, feeding both soldiers and cities, while igniting the modernization of farming.
• Space age: Houston’s NASA mission control became a national nerve center—Texans pushing America into the future.
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And Cultural Independence...
• Texans have long been unwilling to let someone else write their story. They declared independence from Mexico (1836). They push back against federal control (from oil regulation to education).
• Texas identity is so strong that secessionist chatter (though fringe) is always a thing—because Texans fiercely protect their self-image.

From the cattle drives and oil rigs to space exploration, Texas has fueled America’s growth and imagination. Their culture has always been larger than life—music, food, sport, and a sense of independence that told the rest of the country: we’ll be doing it our way. 

That spirit—the willingness to push forward, to innovate, to claim their own identity—is what made Texas not just another state, but a cornerstone of the American story.

But it's All for Not in 2025...

But look at what’s happening today. The President leans on Texas legislature to carve out five new GOP House seats mid-decade, and instead of standing tall, Austin politicians snap to attention like rodeo clowns. Democrats tried to pull a two-week stunt, sure—but at the end of the day, the maps went through, and the people of America were left in the dust.

This isn’t independence. This isn’t strength. This is DC riding Texas like a hog at the state fair—and Texans are letting it happen.

Texas Used to Be the Hybrid America Needed!
Texas has never been one note. It's the state of LBJ’s Great Society and Bush’s conservatism. Willie Nelson’s smoke cloud and Houston’s space-age dreams. The state of ranch hands, immigrants, coders, engineers, oil roughnecks, and border-town families. That messy, combustible mix made Texans the most American of all people—part tough as nails frontier-men and -women, part futurists.

But this gerrymandering? It’s flattening Texas into a single, manipulated chord in a bad cowboy song. It turns a once powerful voice into ventriloquism--handing over independence to party bosses with nothing more than a: 'Y’all go ahead. We'll just sit here and nod.'

Is the bravado still there, Texas? I see the hats, the boots, the 4X4s. But where’s the fight? Where’s the refusal to be used? Where’s the Texas that told Washington to 'lick my boots' when it didn’t line up with its people’s values?

Instead of standing up for democracy—the real deal, where every Texan’s voice counts—you’re letting your leaders sell your voice like cattle at auction. That’s not cowboy. That’s cowardice of the worst kind.

So, Cowboy Up, Texas. Stop letting DC ride you like a hog. Speak truth to democracy the way Texans used to. Fight for every voice, every community, every heartbeat that makes your state more than just a political trophy. The whole country’s watching. The world is watching. And if Texas—of all states—lets democracy get gutted by rigged maps and backroom deals, then what chance does the rest of America, and democracy at-large, really have?

Are you real Texans, or just a bunch of washed up cowboys - all hat and no herd ? The Boston American wants to know.

So there I was, in an online MIT Executive Ed course on Design Thinking—surrounded by sharp minds, big ideas, and scattered across multiple time zones. We broke into groups, and my group had the audacity to tackle what felt like a modern-day Mission: Impossible.

Pitchy Gen-Z voice: "What if we invented an app that actually discouraged kids from sitting inside alone on their phones and encouraged them to get outside and play?"

Pause for laughter. Because if you’ve ever seen a preteen with a device in their hand, you know prying it away is like trying to take a steak tip from a rottweiler. But here’s the twist: once I got past my Gen-X cynicism and actually talked to kids, I found something kind of beautiful.

They wanted help.

I personally sat down with eight kids—real kids, not hypothetical personas—and explained our project. We were trying to get them moving. Off screens. Into the wild. What ideas did they have?

A couple of them were duds (one suggested a robotic dog that would drag them outside), but a few? Legit brilliance. Imagine Fitbit meets geocaching, but built like a multiplayer quest where each level had to be unlocked by physical movement. And what was really cool? You could tell the ideas weren’t about trying to escape their phones—they were trying to escape what their phones were doing to them.

One kid—probably 11, eyes serious behind smudged glasses—shrugged and said,

“We don’t really like being on them all day. We just don’t know what else to do. We need help.”

That one stuck with me.

We aced the project, got our fancy certificate, and went our separate ways. But I never forgot what those kids said. And honestly, I never saw a single headline after that moment that made me think anyone had picked up where we left off…

Until today.

I opened an email from The Atlantic, and there it was. A whole article on how a Non-profit called Let Grow and adopting communities are starting to liberate kids from their screens—not with fear, not with lectures, but with something radical: freedom to play. (Because, here’s another thing, the pros say our kids are glued to their phones because it’s one of the very few places they feel free from hovering parents.)

And then, right there, like a cherry on top of the optimism sundae, was a shoutout to the #NicePeopleofNewburyport (my home port).

Turns out, Newburyport’s Youth Services Department’s Summer “Let Grow” program is giving kids permission and a path to walk to parks, ride bikes with friends, and experience life offline—without needing an escort, a tracking device, an Uber, or a full background check of their friends' parents.

And here’s the kicker: It’s working!

See, for all our tech obsession and AI panic and endless doom scrolling, what kids really crave isn’t another dopamine hit. It’s agency. It’s knowing someone trusts them to make a turn down the street on their own. It’s a grown-up saying, “Go out and get dirty. Just be back by dinner.”

So, if you’re reading this as a parent, educator, fellow entrepreneur, or someone who’s ever muttered, “Kids these days…”—maybe it’s time to flip the lens. It’s not the kids. It’s the world we’ve wrapped around them like digital bubble wrap.

And maybe—just maybe—it’s time we pop a few of those bubbles.
 
To learn more about Let Grow, visit: www.letgrow.org
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LERN Module for Parents, Educators, and Tech Developers: “Play is Not Optional—It’s Oxygen”

OBJECTIVE:
Learn why kids need autonomy, movement, and offline connection—and how to create environments that support it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Kids aren’t addicted to screens—they’re trapped by the absence of better options. Give them purpose, play, and freedom, and the screen loses power.
• Designing for movement matters. Whether it’s school policy, town planning, or app development—prioritize physical interaction, not passive consumption.
• Trust breeds growth. When kids are given permission to walk, play, and explore, they gain confidence. Which, funny enough, tends to make them safer, not more at risk.
• Tech can help—but only if it knows its place. The best tech nudges kids outward, not inward. Think challenge-based, community-driven, physically-activated platforms.

Mini Assignment: Talk to a kid. Ask what they wish they were doing instead of being on their phone. Then write it down. There’s your next startup, school policy, or neighborhood project.

Boston American Final Word: It’s not just about saving kids from their screens. It’s about reminding them (and ourselves) that the real world is still the best app ever created. And it doesn’t need an update. Just a BS meter.