Games With Frontiers

 The sometimes avowed King of our little cul-de-sac when in the neighborhood where I grew up was almost always at the center of the games that all the kids played. When it was football season, we played football. When it was time to play basketball, we played on his driveway. On rainy afternoons there was some version of make believe taking place in his basement: wrestling, trapped on a raft at sea, hounded by monsters of all shapes and sizes. The most important feature of all of these activities was that he alone was the arbiter of how any  of these games progressed. When we played tag, he was the one who always insisted that no one had touched him event when there were plenty of witnesses. No one wanted to contradict him because it would end the game. 

So we played on. By his rules. 

Which is how I feel about the gerrymandering of districts in Texas. This sort of political trick has a history of political corruption ever since Elbridge Gerry first proposed a salamander-shaped district in Massachusetts where he was governor at the time. Far from being a tribute to amphibians, this move was intended to bolster Republican control of the legislature. 

His last name was Gerry. I leave it to you to determine the true etymology of "mander," since it may have something to do with "meander" or possibly a French word meaning to call or summon. Whatever its origin, the term has plenty of history behind it that suggests that it is not the democratic ideal solution to a problem, but rather a way to shift focus to allow your team to win. 

That's why the folks down there in the Lone Star State who want to ensure Republican dominance in that state are referring to their process as "redistricting." Their hope is to carve intricate patterns out of the state that will keep it red in perpetuity. A pretty obvious ploy considering the fact that there are more than eight million registered Democrats down there and less than seven million Republicans according to numbers last updated on August 8, 2025. By pinching and squeezing district boundaries to suit their purpose, Governor "Hey" Abbott hopes to keep his party in control.

By Gerrymandering. 

Clever Texas Democrats did something in response that never fully occurred to me back in the day. I could just go somewhere else and play. Which is what the did. They fled Texas to keep this process from thundering on through the state legislature. Games, after all, are more fun and competitive when everyone agrees on the rules. Or at least agrees that that one shot from behind the planter next to the driveway should be worth five points for everybody.