Yee-haw. Welcome back to the final instalment of A Tip From Nick. Today finally brought with it great weather and lots of sunshine, something that was in dire need for many students. I spent as much time as possible outside to soak up some Vitamin D! Today in class we began watching ‘American Sniper’, a war film by Clint Eastwood that follows the life of US Sniper Chris Kyle. The movie is interesting in its portrayal of Post 9/11 war, specifically I find in the way the enemy is portrayed. However, thats not what I want to talk about in this blog. Instead, I want to bring attention to one of my favourite quotes from the film.

While in a bar, Kyle approaches a woman, who makes the mistake of claiming a ‘Texan’ and a ‘Redneck’ were the same thing. Kyle wittily replies with “Texan’s ride horses, Redneck’s ride their cousins.”. An incest joke, yes, but wait. What makes Kyle so insistent that a Texan is separate from a group of people associated entirely with the Southern United States?

I immediately thought of the phrase ‘everything’s bigger in Texas’, a line that many Texans hold dear to. It seems Texas, in its size and grandeur, has created occupants that find themselves mighty important. The mentality that Texas is different, and not only different but superior was seen as early as the Civil War, and as of the late 90’s has revived itself within the Texan population. In fact, in 2016 we saw the Texas government just barely avoid a resolution for a secession from the United States.

It seems that Confederate blood still runs strong within its borders. After all, it was the outcome of the Civil War which first created the desire to secede. Texas, a strong believer in confederate Ideals, remained rebellious even after the war, going as far as to refuge wanted confederate war criminals. Since then, it has shaped itself into a self proclaimed ‘Cowboy State’, creating images such as the ‘Texas Ranger’, often pictured in solitude. While the Civil War is long gone, as with it the majority of the support for secession, there is still a surprisingly large group of people who believe Texas should be its own independent entity. This is prevalent in a slogan first coined in the late 1990’s in tourist advertisements: “Texas. It’s basically its own country”. Much like Quebec, those for secession in Texas are angered by old wounds. Confederate thinking is still rampant in some parts of Texas, and if it isn’t explicitly present, it makes itself known in the way which Texan’s view themselves as ‘separate’ from the rest of America.

American Sniper portray’s Chris Kyle as this type of Texan; one that, while patriotic, holds Texas above everything else. In a scene in which Kyle’s living quarters in Iraq is shown, a large Texas flag is hung over his bed. While he fights for America, and aligns himself with its ideals entirely, it is clear that his Texan roots make him consider himself unique from the other Americans around him.