This article is ostensibly about the Governor of Texas and his objection to federal oversight on how Texas operates its prisons. The Governor's resistance to federal oversight is symptomatic of what is happening in our society. That is the greater issue. Texas views itself as an sovereign state that is not subject to oversight by the federal government. Federal oversight of Texas's prison system, especially when it might have a liberal stench, violates the rights of the governor to do what he wants to do in Texas. The federal government has different value system than the sovereign state of Texas and the governor does not feel that he is obliged to enforce federal laws. If prisoners, and security guards, in Texas's prisons want to sexually abuse prisoners, he does not want to enforce federal laws that would stand in the way of their freedom to do what they want to do with prisoners. Nobody in Texas gives a damn about the rights of prisoners.
Texas is the largest, and the most powerful red state in America. The governor feels that his political opportunities are enhanced by his opposition to federal oversight. His sentiments are reflected in other red states which place a high value on the US military, but do not have much in common with the values that are more common in the North East or on the Pacific Coast. The dominant values in Texas, and most of the red states, are more like those in third world countries. The political elite can do whatever they please, and they reject most of the values that have enabled America to be a beacon to the rest of the world. Texas is not that far from Mexico.
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