Now that you got free time on your hands, and you just might find this diary and I was wonder why you are moving to the secret hills of Texas Germans? I think you have us confused with our long lost cousins way further south in Latin America, you know, where Bush is probably headed. Now, I know people around Daily Kos might not like you, but if I see you there I just want you to know, you better keep it cool in the Hill Country, and if you do the Shiner is on me.
But we already have our son of bitch, he is from just up the road, his name was LBJ. Verstehen mich?
Good, but I just really got to know, where in Ingram you will be living? For irony sake, did you get nice place off of ol' Freedom Trail Road? I mean, for shits and giggles that would be awesome. Or better yet, BushWhack Road going out towards Medina, after the track. That would be even funnier.
But I think the funniest part of all is how you are moving into the cradle of the Freethinkers of Texas. I really, really think you got us confused with the folks up near Dallas, or far East Texas for that matter. See, the Germans in this area have been there forevers, and pre-date progressive movements in just about any part of the country. Hidden in the brooks, forks and limestone hills of the Hill Country are the Adelsverein Deutschen, though now with a heavy helping of Hispanics.
The Freethinkers were an odd lot, hardcore Prussians who refuse to bow to any political rhetoric, or authority from the church for that matter. That should explain all the Lutheran churches for you. So when they saw something bad coming down the tracks in Europe, thousands of German Freethinkers came to Texas. These were not your usual huddle masses yearning to breath free, these were the core of the Age of Reason intellectuals from Germany. We're talking nobles, philosophers, scientists, doctors and engineers. So remember that when you wander through the blessed valleys of the Hill Country.
You should also remember this is where the first Democratic Left appeared on American soil. You remember them from history, the wrong side of the German revolution for a constitutional government. Many of the Germans you will see are the direct descendents of these people, Prussian German Revolutionary Leftist, that is something you should always keep in mind.
I highly suggest you attend the Saengerfest in Fredericksburg, don't let the German around town bewilder you. After World War II, we got the message and kept German on the down low. But on September 10th, after you are settled in, this cultural event will show you what the Hill Country is about, and has been about since 1854:
* that laws be enacted, so simple and intelligible, that there should be no need of lawyers,
* the abolition of the grand jury,
* the abolition of capital punishment,
* the abolition of all temperance laws,
* that people be taxed on the level of income--the greater the income, the greater the tax,
* that there should be no religious instruction in schools and no preachers could be teachers,
* the abolition of laws respecting Sunday or days of prayer,
* the abolition of the oath as a matter of religious sanction, and
* that Congress should never be opened by prayer.
I know, pretty shocking for Texas. It wasn't till we became more "Americanized" that you saw the tomfoolery we are known for today. Must seem odd to be moving to place that was stocked full of abolitionists before it was the cool thing to do up north. Hell, they had to enact martial law in this part Texas during the Civil War because, well, having a pro-abolitionist Prussian German guard was not gonna be fun to fight. Prussians up to this point had quite the war record.
A little known historical fact is that many German Freethinkers were executed in the very hills and valleys you will now call home because they refused to take an oath to the Confederacy. Go on down to Comfort one weekend, and see the Treue der Union, where 36 German Texans were killed because they refused to turn their backs on the ideals of which the Union was founded on. Freedom and equal rights for every human being.
After the Civil War, a lot of the Freethinkers moved to urban areas, while many are still in the Hill Country which you now will call home. In San Antonio, a certain Reimer met a certain Spaniard senorita attending college there, and from their line generations later I would be born. And since I was a child, my father would always tell me about the "Age of Reason" in the Hill Country, and how, when Texas needs it most, the banner from the "Cradle of Texas Freethinking" is dusted off, brought down from the high creeks and sky views, and people remember just how great a beacon of hope and light Texas use to be.
And I remember what you did last time you were in Texas, with the conservative judges and all, but I was young then. I am not anymore. And when I am at my deer lease in Bandera, or drinking at the Gruene Hall, or tubing down the Guadalupe and hear that you are up to your old tricks, I will gather my fellow Freethinkers and fight you every step of the way. We are many, we are just watching at the moment. Do not bring us out on to the field if you wish to keep Texas red.
So keep your nose clean in the Hill Country, Mr. Rove, or you just might force us to break out the "Age of Reason" again from the most unlikely of places, the Texas Hill Country.
See you in Texas, Karl. See you in Texas. And remember, with the way the demographics are these days, Los Tejanos del Alemania sangre have quite the pull, and quite the hidden history.