Kip Austin Hinton

The Alamo should be integrated into the San Antonio Missions National Park . It should be a place to see and understand the past, good and bad. It is not a "shrine." It is an old church, built to offer/force a foreign religion to indigenous people. And it is a battleground, where a few Tejanos and white immigrants fought in a rebellion against the Mexican army -- some because of greed, others because of principle. In the 20th century, the Alamo became site of a battle over white Texas identity. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas have thrived on this battle. See Richard Flores: http://books.google.com/books?id=Rc4mtLSzu9oC New York Times ran an article about a legal battle at the Alamo/Mision San Antonio de Valero. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas are at the center. Of course there are good women in the organization. But as long as the Daughters' goals remain divisive, they will create (rather than memorialize) conflict. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12