Parades of Patriotism - Parades of Ego
We are looking at June 14th all wrong.
In Trump’s first term, he stood with French President Emmanuel Macron and watched tanks roll down the Champs-Élysées for a 14 juillet celebration, known as Bastille Day outside of France.
Trump was in awe, and the seeds of Trump’s dictator’s parade wet dream were planted.
Let me put this in historical context. Bastille Day is a national holiday celebrating the 1789 Storming of the Bastille, an event widely regarded as having kick-started the French Revolution.
The Bastille was a fortress that the Kings of France used as a state prison. Over the years, it was seen as a symbol of monarchical tyranny. Exactly one year after the Storming of the Bastille, the French celebrated the Fête de la Fédération, which aimed to symbolize peace and unity during the French Revolution.
Within that year, the state had abolished feudalism and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, a constitution written to protect French citizens’ equality, freedom of speech, and political representation.
Trump didn’t get his parade in his first term for a myriad of reasons. The first being the $92m cost. Then there were the legitimate concerns of the Washington, DC mayor that tanks and other armored vehicles would tear up Washington’s streets.
Some retired generals objected publicly to the totalitarian overtones. At that time, several Republican lawmakers even expressed their disgust. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy said, “Confidence is silent, and insecurity is loud. America is the most powerful country in all of human history ... and we don’t need to show it off. We’re not North Korea. We’re not Russia, we’re not China, and I don’t wanna be.”
But Trump doesn’t care about freedom or the men who fought for it. Trump doesn’t care about democracy or the America that was once a beacon of freedom. Trump just wants a King’s birthday party. However, he denies it is his birthday. He is “celebrating” under the guise of the US Army’s 250th Anniversary.
The ballpark and most likely underestimated costs for this “birthday/anniversary” parade will amount to approximately $45 million. Seriously toned down from his first attempt at a fanfaronade, but still a significant expenditure for a parade.
The Washingtonian described the mitigation factors being planned. The Army has stated that it will place metal plates on the parade route in areas where heavy military vehicles will be turning sharply and could cause the most damage with their metal tracks. Officials also stated that new rubber track pads will be installed on the tanks to further isolate the tracks from road surfaces. However, experts warn that running, more than 100 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, four M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, as well as military relics like World War II-era Sherman tanks, a B-25 bomber, and a P-51 Mustang single-seat fighter plane, could buckle the asphalt and damage power, water, and communication lines underneath.
Infrastructure alongside the road could also be damaged. DC streets are lined with granite curbs subjected to damage by corner-turning leviathans of might. Streetlights also stand tall as obstacles.
The Army has stated that it will cover the costs of repairing the streets. However, they did not agree to picking up the tab for policing or clean up. A number projected to run into the millions. A figure that would be a blow to the city of DC’s budget, which Congress recently slashed by $1.1 billion.
Putting that all aside, Reuters has hit the nail on the head of what America’s objection should really be about. “Critics have called a parade an authoritarian display of power that is wasteful, especially as Trump slashes costs throughout the federal government.”
“If the Trump Administration truly cared about celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army, they would honor past and present soldiers and reinstate the thousands of veterans who they fired from the federal workforce, not throw away millions on an extravagant parade.” - Democratic Senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal.
Historically, the United States has had its share of military parades, primarily for the review of troops. However, a few featured heavy military equipment, mainly to commemorate military victories, but also for two inaugurations.
In 1939, an Army tank passed in front of the US Capitol Building during an Army Day Parade.
In 1945, vehicles carrying 8-inch Howitzers rolled down New York’s Fifth Avenue during the Victory Parade of the 82nd Airborne Division.
In 1957, 90mm guns on Army tanks went down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade of President Dwight Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon.
In 1961, an Army Pershing missile mounted on a tank-like carrier rode down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., as part of the inaugural parade for President John F. Kennedy.
On June 8, 1991, after Operation Desert Storm, about 8,800 troops led by General H. Norman Schwarzkopf marched across the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Thirty-one war machines, including M-1 tanks, Humvees, rocket launchers, and the Patriot missile, made famous during that war, were also featured in the parade.
But we all know this isn’t the same. This is a parade to assuage the ego of a maniacal narcissist.
The world has seen these obscene displays by up-and-coming dictators before.
In 1929, Stalin’s 50th birthday celebration is considered to be the beginning of his cult of personality. In April 1939, Hitler’s 50th birthday was marked by a military parade. Five months later, Germany invaded Poland. In 2025, North Koreans were ordered to make a “loyalty oath” to Kim Jong-un on his birthday, January 8th, rather than on the traditional first day of the year, a move aimed at bolstering Kim Jong-un’s personality cult.
We have already been insulted by the introduction of a bill by New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney to designate Trump’s birthday a national holiday.
A birthday parade on June 14th will be a symbol of fascism in America. How far that develops is up to each and every one of us to resist.
How will you celebrate June 14th? No King’s Day celebrations will be occurring across the US. You can find one in your neighborhood here.
ICE and LA
My fears of the display of fascism this coming Saturday are dwarfed by the actions of fascism we are watching play out in Los Angeles.
If you were watching your TV over the last three days, you saw the protests in Los Angeles. The protests erupted after ICE raids in Los Angeles began going after undocumented immigrants. This included a raid on an elementary school graduation that left children traumatized as they were separated from their parents.
ICE also went after protesters all over Los Angeles who were, they say, peacefully protesting the raids.
In other raids, ICE barricaded themselves inside a federal building and threw tear gas at protesters. ICE has claimed they were justified because the crowd was “violent.”
However, according to the relatively conservative Los Angeles Times, the raids were so “aggressive” they “sparked backlash,” which is not the exact words one would use if the protestors started the violence.
Some in the White House are saying that this is cause to institute the Insurrection Act. However, the act requires the president to issue a formal dispersal order before deploying troops. As of this writing, Sunday evening, June 8th, Trump has not done that.
He has, however, issued a “Presidential Memorandum” which federalizes 2000 members of the California National Guard and directs them to support Department of Homeland Security activities (i.e., ICE raids) in and around Los Angeles.
This all occurred over a weekend, when many were enjoying the beginning of summer, with picnics, graduations, and family gatherings, but not the national news.
It is also a situation that will unfold slowly and then explode with just the right spark. I will bring this to you with background facts to help us all understand this in real-time. For that reason, you will hear from me again this week, and for that I apologize in advance.