Let’s not talk, Texans say, when politics is the subject

Texas, we need to talk. And we need to talk about what we talk about and what we don’t talk about.

Apparently — surprisingly? — it turns out too few Texans talk about politics. A new study says that’s bad for our civic health.

So, in the name of improving our civic health, please take time today to get a political conversation going with somebody. Here are two suggested opening lines: “Hey, is that Trump guy unbelievably great or what?” or “Hey, is that Trump guy bat-droppings crazy or what?”

Let me preface this by noting I’ve never found Texans shy about sharing their opinions about politics. However, I’ve spoken with relatively few Texans when you consider there are more than 28 million of us.

But the University of Texas Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life has spoken with lots of Texans, sort of. Its recently released 2018 Texas Civic Health Index is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey that asks questions to about 60,000 households across the country.

The Texas Civic Health Index includes a section called “Discussing Politics.” (Spoiler alert: Texas’ civic health isn’t healthy.)

“A regular practice of discussing politics with family and friends is an indicator of vibrant civic health,” says the report. “Texas, however, ranks 50th in the nation, with only 23 percent of Texans saying that they frequently discuss politics. This is less than half of the percentage of respondents