Too few people are asking the hard questions about what’s happening with the Alamo. You are almost out of time and so is the Alamo.
What Exactly Is Going On?
If anyone knows exactly what’s happening, no one will go on the record. The number of contradictory stories since this plan was first rolled out to the public cannot be counted. We’ve been tracking these efforts since 2009 and there are so many players and so much misdirection, that it’s hard to keep up.
However, we do have a specific page on our site if you’d like to take a deep dive. What’s important here is that there is so much confusion, so many lies, so much misinformation, and so much pushback against anyone who is concerned about this process of “Reimagining The Alamo” that we should all be concerned.
Why Does The TNM Care So Much?
It’s the Alamo.
Honestly, that should be enough of an answer, but here is the long version. Our mission specifically states that we will work for the “political, cultural, and economic independence” of Texas. There is no place in Texas that embodies the culture of independence in Texas than the Alamo. In fact, Colonel Travis, in one of his lesser known letters from the Alamo, specifically said that the Alamo defenders fought and would die explicitly for independence and that if independence was not declared they would surrender.
There is no doubt in our minds that there is a concerted effort underway to reframe the Alamo story to erode the culture of independence in Texas. The reason that there is no doubt is that it is well-documented. There is also an enormous amount of money changing hands in the course of this project, some of which will eventually end up in campaign coffers. Scroll to the bottom of this article and read over 294 page summary.
Why The Rush?
Proponents of this plan to Reimagine The Alamo will contend that this plan has been in the works for years and that opponents of the plan are just small groups of malcontents who are sour because they were cut out of the process. This should be an insult to every Texan.
Contrary to the beliefs of the City of San Antonio, the Alamo is a Texas symbol and, therefore, all Texans should be in the loop and have a voice in its disposition. 99.9% of Texans had that right stolen from them. The cultural assassins were implored to pause the process to give Texans a greater opportunity to hear about the plans on the table and, in turn, to have their opinions heard. We, along with other groups and organizations, lobbied hard to get legislation filed and passed that would have paused the process and gotten the people’s elected representatives (the Texas Legislature) involved. The General Land Office under George P. Bush and the City of San Antonio fought it every step of the way, showing their contempt for the people of Texas and for our elected representatives. In the end, the Bush name and the big money political donors in San Antonio were able to run out the clock in the Legislature and any hope of a legislative solution died.
The proponents of this plan seem to be in a big hurry to push this past the point of no return before more people find out about what they are doing and force action to be taken.
Where Are The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor?
On the issue of the Alamo, you’re more likely to find DB Cooper before you find Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
Abbott and Patrick could swing their political clout and pump the brakes on this. Abbott, if he actually cared about the Alamo, could call a special session and get the entire process under the oversight of the Texas Legislature. They know about the controversy surrounding this issue and they have the power to do something. Instead, they have stood as silent as the Alamo Cenotaph.
It’s not entirely clear as to whether they are afraid of riling up the Bush family, establishment Republican donors, the Democrats, or all three. The end result is that Abbott and Patrick are showing us that all of their bluster about being such great Texans is little more than pandering to voters. If the Alamo Cenotaph is relocated and the cultural assassins are allowed to continue their erosion of the Alamo story, the Governor will not be able to spit out enough tweets about Whataburger to convince anyone that he is a true Texan. The same goes for the Lieutenant Governor.
What Can I Do About It?
This is the most important question that you can ask. Far too few know about what’s happening with the Alamo and fewer still have spoken up about it. To put it bluntly, you are almost out of options and dangerously low on time. Here’s what you need to do right now.
Call your State Representative and State Senator. Although the session is out, you need to let them know that if they do not go “all in” on hitting the pause button on this project, loudly and publicly, they will not get your vote and you will do everything in your power to campaign against them. It’s time to get tough with them.
Call the Governor. Your next call needs to be to Governor Abbott’s office. Same message. Tell him that you know others have reached out and he needs to loudly and publicly take every measure to pump the brakes on this project. His office number is (512) 463-2000.
Get loud. Read the material that we’ve prepared for you. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Share this post on social media. Talk to any and every civic group that you can. As we said before, too few know about this. You can change that.
Attend what may be the final hearing before they move the Cenotaph. There will be another hearing of the City of San Antonio Historic Design & Review Commission. They held a hearing earlier this month to greenlight moving the Cenotaph. Because of pressure from Texans who traveled from all over, they tabled the issue. That’s all going to change on December 18th when they meet again. If they didn’t hear from you then, let them hear from you now. Leave the marker to our unburied Alamo dead where it stands.
Organize with us. If you are ready to get in the fight on this an all other issues related to Texas independence, then it’s time to join with us. At a minimum, you can support our efforts and keep us in the fight. We need you.
