It’s the exact opposite of what we teach children

By Larry Persily

Proverbs are words of wisdom; advice handed down through generations; short, memorable phrases to guide people in life. Some are based in reality, some are dreams, and some are well-intentioned but debatable.

Many a young piano student would argue that practice does not make perfect.

A second-place runner might debate the reasoning behind the proverb: Slow and steady wins the race.

And the Trump administration has put an end to the proverb, a penny saved is a penny earned, by putting an end to minting any new pennies. Now a penny saved is a collectors’ item.

But it’s the golden rules, the truly meaningful proverbs that carry the most meaning. Or at least they should mean the most to people as they go through life.

Sharing top billing in that golden category are: “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” and, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Yet it’s precisely those two adages that elected officials, political parties and our nation’s proverbial leaders are ignoring in their quest to redraw congressional maps to their personal and partisan liking.

Forget the notion of one person, one vote. These map makers have a new slogan: One person, one favored voter, the others don’t count.

Republican President Donald Trump, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature have proven the accuracy of another proverb: Birds of a feather flock together. Trump asked and the Texans jumped right out of their Stetson Hats to redraw the state’s map of congressional districts to unelect Democrats and elect more Republicans in the 2026 elections. The intent is to stack the deck so that Trump and the Republican Party can retain control of the U.S. House in the next election.

At least the bill sponsor told the truth about it, following the proverb that honesty is the best policy. Texas Republican State Rep. Todd Hunter admitted: “The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance.”

All that glitters is not gold, but Trump and Texas Republicans were blinded by the glitter and struck while the iron was hot this summer and decided it’s OK to put all the eggs in one basket, as long as it is their basket and no one else’s.

As if redrawing election maps to favor one party in one state wasn’t bad enough, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and now California and other Democrat-led states are taking steps to redraw their own maps. They figure that if the Republicans can color outside the lines of decency and democracy to win more elections in Texas, Democrats should be able to use the same paint-by-numbers book in their states.

It's a recipe for carving up the nation into two politically armed camps, with no peace talks, no neutral zones, no hope of a united union.

It’s the worst example of two wrongs don’t make a right.

And it’s the exact opposite of what parents and grandparents, teachers and school counselors, religious leaders and ethical leaders have been teaching for generations, or at least trying to teach: Breaking the rules and treating people unfairly is not the answer, even if others do it first.

For a conservative state that claims to teach the golden rules in school, Texas’s actions speak louder than its words. That’s wrong, and nothing makes it right.

• This article was originally published by the Wrangell Sentinel.