The Marks Post: Remember the Alamo, again

One hundred eighty-six years ago, on March 6, 1836, an old church turned into a fortress on the banks of the Brazos River fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege. Perishing inside were all of the brave men including Lt. Colonel William Barret Travis; Davy Crockett, of Tennessee; and Jim Bowie, of Louisiana. This fortress was the Alamo.
Even though the Alamo fell, it inspired a movement that culminated in Texas’ independence from Mexico. The rallying cry of “Remember the Alamo” was heard across the area all the way to San Jacinto where the Mexican Army surrendered.
A few years ago, I was in San Antonio with my friend Jason Bergeron to watch Royal Rumble. When we got into town, we took a taxi to, where else, the Alamo. The cab driver told us he would tell riders from out of state about different things to do in town, and, when he mentioned the Alamo, they had no clue about it.
Sadly, the story of the Alamo is fading away. Before we know it, the whole structure will probably be torn down to make room for some strip mall or yuppie coffee shop.
As I am typing this column, I cannot help but thinking about what is going on in the Ukraine. The Ukrainians are experiencing an Alamo moment. An invading force is coming into their land. But, like the brave Texans, these Ukrainians are fighting back and resisiting. President Volodymyr Zelensky is making his case of being the next Sam Houston.
I do not want to be a harbinger of bad news, but America will experience another invasion and will be faced with another Alamo moment. But, what will our response be? Will we fight back like the Texans of 1836 or the Ukrainians of 2022, or will we roll over like the French of 1940?
I question this because we have generations of kids who do nothing but play Fortnite, post Snapchats, and watch TicTok videos all day. Look, I’ve played Fortnite and post on Snapchat. I never got into the TicTok craze... yet. But, I, and others like me, grew up in the 1980s and 1990s when things were not as easy as they are today. We know what it is like to work for something. Heck, if we wanted to do a report on something like the Alamo back then, we would have had to thumb through Encyclopedia Brittanica. Which generation do you want in charge when our next invasion comes?
Also, my generation grew up learning about the Alamo in history class. Let us keep telling our youths about this brave moment and hopefully inspire them to put down the TicTok and pick up the rallying cry.