I’ve gone through many changes since moving to Bandera in 2019. Becoming a member of a political minority was a new experience for me, coming from left-leaning urban and suburban settings before. As I settled in, I quickly grew tired of living in an echo chamber that required me to ignore the existence of friends and neighbors who thought quite differently from me. I naturally fit into an Independent mindset, that requires me to think about positions I take rather than just follow a party line.
I then started learning about the fundamental structure of our nation and what makes it so special, regardless of which party is at the helm at any given moment. Yes, I care about the outcomes of the legislative process, the ebbs and flows of more liberal and more conservative worldviews, and how our nation expresses its values during any given period of time. But I took for granted that our nation was built upon the bedrock of the Constitution, a truly brilliant document that was crafted by men who were determined never to live under the rule of a king again.
Yes, they had personal flaws like all humans do. Which in a way makes the Constitution even more remarkable: to describe the government they wanted to build, they used the concept that all men are created equal, even at a time when this was very far from the truth. I believe they could see it, even through the murky lens of slavery and unequal rights for everyone but white men. They could see the outlines of how a true democracy would work. The Constitution is the reason our nation has not only survived but risen to the pinnacle of world esteem; we have a system that guides our decision- making and shows us how to make changes as they are needed, while still remaining securely within the solid framework of the Constitution. Everyone, regardless of political party, used to agree with that statement.
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