By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Let’s play this drama out a bit longer, shall we?

Dallas public school superintendent Michael Hinojosa has become a bit of a household name in just a few hours. He decided to defy an executive order from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott by ordering that everyone who works in or visits a Dallas public school wear a mask to prevent exposure to the COVID virus.

Abbott’s order said local public officials cannot do that.

I have been asking this of myself: If I were running a school district would I have the guts to defy a gubernatorial order? My own bias tells me I would. I dislike Abbott’s ham-handed approach to dictating to local officials how to protect their constituents. Still, to defy the governor in this fashion is to tempt political fate, given that school superintendents do represent fellow citizens who might disagree with a decision of such controversy and consequence.

Could I withstand the heat? To be honest, I cannot answer that question as I have never faced such a possibility … ever!

Dallas Independent School District is the second-largest district in Texas. The other Texas mega-districts sit in communities such as Harris, Travis, Tarrant and Bexar counties. They all have something in common. All of those counties voted in the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden. They opposed the 45th POTUS’s bid for re-election. I strongly suspect the former president’s blundering, feckless and untruthful response to the pandemic had something to do with voters’ decision to reject his re-election.

So now the politicization of this fight continues.

I happen to believe we well might see similar demonstrations of defiance in places — just like Dallas ISD — where residents are likely to endorse decisions such as the one handed down by Michael Hinojosa.

As for the smaller, more rural districts populated by voters who endorse the fecklessness of POTUS 45, they well might have to face their consciences if their refusal to take action results in more sickness … or worse.