There are many horrible ideas hatched at the White House, of that there can be little doubt. But among the most egregious is Mr. Trump's little-boy insistence on--and the Pentagon's capitulation to--a Red Square/Pyongyang-style show of military strength and penile extension in November. With a price tag now closing in on $100 million, there is so much wrong with this idea it's hard to know where to begin.
Having been an Inaugural Parade coordinator and co-designer for two Inaugurations (Reagan's second and Bush 41's only), I can tell you that we struggled with requests for heavy military equipment (main battle tanks and other large tracked vehicles) not only because the logistics of getting them to Washington were daunting, but because of the projected damage the equipment would do to Pennsylvania Avenue. It is a good thing that the Pentagon has at least pushed back successfully on Trump's request for heavy gear. It's not a good thing that thousands of troops will have to go through the onerous process of preparing for, rehearsing, and then marching in a parade promoted by a mad man.
But that's not the main objection to a Trumpian show of U.S. military might marching on the streets and flying in the skies over the Nation's capital. The main objection--in my humble and outraged opinion--is that such a show of force has only one purpose: to show the world that president Trump can grab and gratify himself in public and get away with it.
We are not a banana republic (though we're getting there under Trump's plan), we are not a totalitarian state (yet), we are not a cowed collection of fearful citizens who are called upon en mass to show up at a parade with specially-colored banners or pieces of cardboard coordinated to show the 10-acre-sized face of our dictatorial leader. We are not a nation of citizens who are afraid not to clap with our dear leader speaks lies to truth; we do not equate lack of applause with treasonous activities or disloyalty. We do not line up with bags of gold or grain or pounds of flesh to have them weighed against the mighty fat of our self-anointed king. And we sure as hell do not believe the men and women in uniform who protect us should be paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue to appease a lunatic.
Mr. Trump is a symptom of a cancer that is working its way--metastasizing if you will--from the fringes of our national soul to the very organs of justice, truth, and confidence in our Constitution that sustain each and every American.
The very idea that Mr. Trump thinks it's a good time to pull off his parade near Veterans' Day is anathema to everything that honorable day is about...Veterans' Day is a day of reverence, of sacred thoughts and abiding thanks to those heroes who either gave their all or who stood ready to do so with no mental reservation. The crisp cadence of ten thousand bootsteps marching down the streets of the Nation's capital will never replace the stark crack of rifles saluting 21 times the fallen who rest in Arlington and in National and state cemeteries around the country; such a parade will do nothing to assuage the pain of the families of men and women who served with incredible honor and who only seek recognition for their loved-one's service.
To all the veterans who come to visit the capital, to all the veterans watching from VA hospital beds, to all the veterans who struggle with tangled memories and unanswered questions from their service, this parade sends only one message: "Hey, look at me! I'm your president, see?! Hey, over here, look at me!"
There are times for flyovers--my father, inurned at Arlington, was the recipient of a flyover during his funeral...followed by the rifle salute and taps. There were no missiles on transporters, no Abrams tanks, no armored personnel carriers, no self-propelled guns, no massive shows of airpower. There was only respect and a cascade of tears that day when another American of great honor was laid to rest. I have been to too many burials at Arlington...at each one, I remember the sacred silence and unspoken words of honor that marked each service. Whether we gather to honor our veterans and our fallen heroes on Memorial Day or Veterans Day, we do so out of respect, with dignity and devotion.
Mr. Trump, just because France chose to show its power during Bastille Day does not mean you must somehow whip out your insignificant reproductive and waste-pouring appendage and pretend it is America's might. You will never be the soldier-citizen you wish you were, bone-spurs and all, and America's military is not your play toy. Your parade idea stinks more than it when you first laid its egg on the public and on the men and women who must now march to your command, and the stink--and cost--will only get worse.
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