Hello Everyone:
Way to go United States Women' National Team beating Team England 2-1 in the first World Cup semi-final game. They will go on to meet the winner of the Sweden-Netherlands semi-final game tomorrow while #TeamNutmeg cries in their warm beer.
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| Bastille Day military parade Paris, France usnews.com |
The first time Mr. Donald Trump visited France, he was a guest of President Emmanuel Macron at the annual Bastille Day military parade. He was so impressed by the sight of marching soldiers, flyovers, tanks, that he wanted one for the United States, only bigger. Never mind the cost or the fact that service personnel, home for the Fourth of July holiday, will have to return to Washington D.C. to move and guard tanks with no desire to see this holiday tainted by politics. At first he wanted to schedule it for Veteran's Day. That did not work and Memorial Day was floated as an alternative day before finally settling on the Fourth of July. Sounds like a great idea, right? Not exactly.
Every year, the National Parks Service hosts an annual Fourth of July concert and fireworks show on the National Mall. It is a fun, non-political, family event that celebrates this nation's declaration of independence from Great Britain. This year the president wants to co-opt the event and turn it into a "Salute to America" extravaganza with Air Force and Navy flyovers, a yuge parade, tanks, capped off by a speech at the Lincoln Memorial from "everybody's favorite president." The whole is so absurd that it makes really wonder why?
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| The president vanityfare.com |
Why, indeed, is the president so insistent on an over the top Fourth of July party? If you have to ask, then you really do not understand what the holiday is about? Leave it to senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway to explain it to a reporter who had the audacity to ask,
Do you know the Fourth of July is a celebration of this country's independence, are you aware of that?... You are? You know what happened on July 4, 1776? OK. Because it doesn't sound like you're even talking about the patriotism that undergirds it" (cnn.com; July 2, 2019).
Apparently, neither does Ms. Conway. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as "love for or devotion to one's country" (merriam-webster.com; date accessed July 2, 2019). Demanding an over the top, who knows who much American Revolution do-over is not Blogger's definition of patriotism. Former Speaker of the House and Trump cheerleader Newt Gingrich had this to say,
What kind of idiot do you have to be to complain that the president wants to celebrate the founding of our country?...Other than the fact they have to pay to fix the streets, who cares? (nytimes.com; July 1, 2019; date accessed July 2, 2019)
What kind of idiot do you have to be to complain that the president wants to celebrate the founding of our country?...Other than the fact they have to pay to fix the streets, who cares? (nytimes.com; July 1, 2019; date accessed July 2, 2019)
Previous presidents have preferred to pass on this kind of display, instead keep the day free of any and all political statements. Were they unpatriotic? Blogger does not think so because they were conscious of the message any sort of grand military and political display would send to our allies and enemies. This is the kind of stuff of authoritarian regimes. What Mr. Trump fails to recognize is the nuance of it. Yes, the United States has a the mightiest military but there is no need to rub it in everyone's face.
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| The Lincoln Memorial Washington D.C. washington.org |
The denouement of the spectacle is a speech by the president. The speech will be delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and the president will be flanked by tanks that may damage the national monument and cause a bridge to collapse. According to the Washington Post,
Engineers were examining the site this week to determine if the weight of the stationing armored vehicles there would affect the Lincoln Memorial's underground rooms,... (washingtonpost.com; July 1, 2019; date accessed July 2, 2019).
Think about it for a second, the symbolism of a beloved landmark collapsing under the weight of the president's hubris would be poetic. Blogger can say with confidence that it would be preferable that the Lincoln Memorial remaining in tact.
As for Blogger's holiday plans, they involve fireworks and music, all politics free.
Engineers were examining the site this week to determine if the weight of the stationing armored vehicles there would affect the Lincoln Memorial's underground rooms,... (washingtonpost.com; July 1, 2019; date accessed July 2, 2019).
Think about it for a second, the symbolism of a beloved landmark collapsing under the weight of the president's hubris would be poetic. Blogger can say with confidence that it would be preferable that the Lincoln Memorial remaining in tact.
As for Blogger's holiday plans, they involve fireworks and music, all politics free.
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