Historically, American military parades have been held to celebrate victory in war and the end of military engagements. America has never before organized a parade to solely show off our military might. The world’s leading military power should be confident enough not to parade its strength.
America has always prided itself on having a professional, non-political military. This parade politicizes the military. Trump avoided serving in the military, yet now surrounds himself with generals and regularly threatens war. There is no legitimate military reason for this parade. Instead, it serves the ego of our Commander in Chief.
Internationally, large national parades (with the exception of France’s) have been a tool of authoritarian dictatorships. The iconic images of the army saluting and miles and miles of tanks and missile launchers in Hitler’s Germany, the Soviet Union, Russia, and lately North Korea have all been designed to intimidate their own people and their enemies. We are rightly repelled by the idea of hundreds or thousands of troops parading past and saluting the President.
There are immediate financial impacts on the military. The proposed parade will cost time and money - shipping military hardware, amassing troops and quartering them in the DC metro area, upgrading uniforms, training and practicing to achieve show-worthy precision, and the myriad other logistics involved in assembling a spectacle have significant costs. All of this takes away from real military readiness at a time when the President regularly threatens war with North Korea and Iran. The resources would be better used to serve struggling veterans.
We cannot stand by while the Trump Administration goes ahead with these plans. Public outcry is our most effective weapon in stopping this parade.
Call To Action
- Call your members of Congress and let them know of your concerns about this ill- conceived parade.
- Equally important, flood the White House with messages of your disapproval Here are the White House contact points:
Comment phone line: 202-456-1111
Email comments: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Snail mail: POTUS, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wash DC 20500
- Consider writing letters to your local newspaper, posting a blog, using Twitter, Facebook or other social media to rouse public sentiment.