What Unites Us Also Divides Us: A Frenchman’s View of Diversity in Texas

Texas is divided in many ways, but those divisions reflect America as a whole.

By Michael MarksFebruary 13, 2017 8:27 am

From the viewpoint of Philippe Gelie – a Washington correspondent for the French newspaper, Le Figaro – Texas is divided. It’s divided between urban and rural communities, Democrats and Republicans, immigrants and citizens. Those divisions aren’t unique to Texas, he says, they reflect broader fractures in the United States.

Gelie recently wrote an in-depth report examining this divide in Texas. He says that the unique levels of diversity in Texas and the U.S. contribute to the American identity and set it apart from many European countries.

“It’s been all along about the power of attraction that the U.S. represents to a lot of people around the world,” Gelie says. “The diversity of this society is very much a part of that. ”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How a foreigner views the conflicts facing Texas and the U.S. today

– What American identity means to a foreigner

Written by Emma Whalen.