Texas has long worn its identity as a badge of defiance, a place where the spirit of the Alamo supposedly still echoes in every stand against an overwhelming force. But according to American Thinker columnist Olivia Murray, that attitude is not just fading — it’s dead.
In a blog post published August 24, 2026, Murray writes that the state’s iconic “Don’t Mess With Texas” ethos — a modern nod to the defiance of Colonel William Barret Travis and the defenders of the Alamo — has been replaced by something she sees as submission. Her evidence: foreign flags flying at equal height to the American and Texan flags, a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, and Texas public schools offering Tamil language classes for credit.
“This isn’t a slight against Indian culture,” Murray writes, “but it’s a slight against Indian culture usurping the most culturally rich American spaces of America.”
Murray, who says she homeschooled her two sons and used Travis’s famous letter from the Alamo as a teaching tool, draws a direct line from the 1836 battle to modern-day Texas pride. Travis, faced with Santa Anna’s overwhelming force, answered a surrender demand with a cannon shot, and his flag waved defiantly from the walls until the end.
That attitude, she argues, is as dead as the men who died at the Alamo.
Flags and Statues: Symbols of a Shift
The post includes several images and videos that Murray says illustrate the change. In one, she says the Indian flag appears level with — or even higher than — the American and Texan flags at a public event. In another, she shows an “Indian Independence Day” event in Irving, Texas, where the Indian flag was raised to the same height as the American flag, with the local mayor speaking at the event and, in Murray’s words, “fully endorsing the conquering.”
She also notes the presence of a giant bronze statue of Gandhi, commenting that there are no similar monuments to Texan heroes like Travis or Davy Crockett.
“Noted,” she writes.
Schools, Credits, and a Changing Population
Murray’s critique extends to the state’s education system. She points to a Texas public school building filled with Tamil-speaking Indian children learning their language and heritage, with the school district accepting it for official credits.
“English used to be part of what made us one people. Now we cater to everyone else,” she writes.
For Murray, the sight of families at Fort Worth’s Water Gardens — an area known as “Where the West Begins” — was a final straw. She describes the scene as “smelly H1Bs with village idiot parents waddling around dressed in garb,” adding that there wasn’t a single cowboy in sight.
That language is likely to stir strong reactions from both sides of the immigration debate.
A Conservative Call to Action
Murray is careful to say she is not attacking Indian culture itself. She writes that two of her favorite childhood movies — A Little Princess and The Jungle Book — romanticized India’s richness and exoticism, and she says she would love to see India’s culture in India.
But in Texas, she argues, the cultural shift has gone too far.
Significantly, Murray notes that Texas has a Republican trifecta — control of the governorship and both chambers of the legislature — yet she says it “certainly doesn’t look like it.” She asks whether anyone can make a case for voting in the upcoming midterms, and admits she couldn’t be less motivated.
“We can’t even blame the Democrats for this one,” she writes.
The column is likely to resonate with a segment of the conservative base that feels cultural change is outpacing political victories. It also highlights a growing tension within the state over how to preserve traditional Texan identity while accommodating a rapidly diversifying population.
For Murray, the answer is clear: “This has got to stop.” Whether that sentiment will galvanize voters or further alienate a changing Texas remains to be seen.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/i-fear-the-don-t-mess-with-texas-attitude-is-as-dead-as-the-men-at-the-alamo/