With our participation topic this
week focusing on Texas Exceptionalism, this article fits right in with what we’ve
been talking about recently. This editorial looks at Texas’s rankings among the
other 49 states and how these rankings affect Texas. Right off the bat, the
author acknowledges the fact that Texas is not always at the top of every list
pointing out that many people in the state recognize this as well. In fact, it
even points out that the newspaper that this editorial is published in, The
Dallas Morning News, has flaws from time to time too. The main point the author
makes is Texas’s low ranking in categories such as educational spending and
environmental protection, can be made up for and improved by our other leading
categories. By providing evidence of actual rankings based off of CNBC and
other news sources, the author shows how Texas is #1 in many categories. He
then uses this to strengthen his argument saying that compared to other highly
populated areas, many Texas cities are doing better economically and transportation-wise.
One important thing to note is the fact that the author does a good job and
analyzing both sides of the argument. He knows it’s true that Texas ranks #1 in
rankings such as “Most Amount of carbon dioxide emissions” and “Highest
percentage of population without insurance.” He looks at both sides and
concludes that by balancing both aspects of this problem, in the long run, they
will work together. In my opinion, his logic makes sense. The fact that Texas
is able to be #1 in rankings in categories that have a good outcome show that
it has the ability to outshine others. Although it is true that Texas lags
behind in some categories, if we apply the same mindset as we do for our #1
rankings, Texas could rank positively in every aspect.
The author seems to be aiming at
people who recognize the fact that Texas is not all that great when it comes to
educational and environmental spending. He could be targeting people who have
given up on Texas thinking that despite the good rankings, there are enough bad
rankings to make the state seem like a bad place. It seems he is aiming more
towards people who are pessimistic about Texas’s current condition.
Unfortunately, this editorial does
not provide an author to its article. However, judging from the fact that the
author mainly analyzes numbers and rankings from news sources such as CNBC, the
author is only as credible as these external sources. Nevertheless, this is
merely an assumption and shouldn’t be taken as fact because again, the
editorial does not provide an author.
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