It may be increasingly infested with blue voters, but Texas is still an example of what a state should look like, and it’s only getting increasingly better while Governor Greg Abbott is in charge.

Over the past few months, Republican legislators have been working with Abbott to take the government’s hands off the people. Superfluous laws and authoritarian actions are dying highly public deaths, and Abbott is making it all too entertaining to watch.

Abbott has a habit of taking to social media to allow you to watch the signing of bills that pry the government’s kung-fu grip off of the people. This includes red light cameras…

I just signed the law that bans red light cameras in Texas. #txlege pic.twitter.com/AyF28hxGwO — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 1, 2019

…looser liquor laws, including one that allows it to be delivered directly to your home like a pizza…

I just signed a law allowing you to order beer and wine from retailers to be delivered to your home. Enjoy responsibly. #txlege pic.twitter.com/4T6C6B7O77 — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 3, 2019

…a law protecting free speech on campus…

I just signed a law protecting free speech on college campuses. #txlege pic.twitter.com/jHIh8431SH — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 10, 2019

…and even a law that allows children to open up a lemonade stand without running into the law.

It’s now legal for kids to sell lemonade at stands. We had to pass a law because police shut down a kid’s lemonade stand. Thanks to ⁦@RepMattKrause⁩. #txlege #LEMONADE pic.twitter.com/xwfCob2nvV — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 11, 2019

The weird thing about these laws is that they’re laws that Abbott shouldn’t have even had to sign in the first place, but thanks to the progression of the Overton window, many find these things Abbott is having to protect perfectly fine to trample on.

Abbott shouldn’t have had to sign a law protecting free speech on college campuses. Red light cameras were unconstitutional from the get-go. Police have absolutely no business shutting down a kid’s lemonade stand. yet it happens. That’s the kind of country that we reside in now.

Some of the things Abbott is doing may seem small, but it’s the small things that really make you proud to be an American. It’s the fact that we can exist in a place where an enterprising child can take his or her steps into the world of capitalism. It’s a world where a person can speak freely without suffering some form of institutionalized punishment.

These little holds of misplaced authoritarianism nickle and dime us into figurative — and sometimes literal — chains.

But before you get into the idea that Abbott is only playing softball, the Texas Governor is taking steps to make sure that property owners are paying less in taxes, and putting the leash on municipal governments who want to really come down hard on the wallets of those who live there, which has been a long-standing problem in the state.

“Tightening the leash on property taxes in Texas is now a reality.” I signed a law that cut property taxes by $5 Billion. Also I signed a law that caps how much cities, counties and school districts can raise property taxes in the future. #txlege https://t.co/q8Hx4TmV5Q — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 12, 2019

He’s also seeing to it that the Texas government has far more transparency by terminating lawmakers from having walking quorums.

The “walking quorum” loophole in the Texas Open Meetings Act is now closed. This ensures greater transparency in government proceedings. SB 1640 has been signed and is now law. pic.twitter.com/XZ5DqDQfQI — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 9, 2019

I sincerely doubt he’s done. I sincerely hope this trend continues, not even just in Texas, but all over the country. We’ve entered into an era of walking on eggshells both in the social and legal scenes. Abbott and the Texas legislature are doing a lot to relieve the pressure, and we really need that to happen in order to bring us back to an America where we really are free to be free.