Concern for the streets of our nation's capitol will keep the brand-new shiny tanks (but not, likely,
any new "Sherman" tanks) from parading but Trump insisted he get to show off some military toys and stand with the heads of
our different military branches in what is starting to feel a bit like a stealth Trump rally. After all, what would you call it when
the RNC is giving out tickets to big donors to a VIP area for Trump's speech? It doesn't sound nonpolitical. And all of this is being staged with taxpayer dollars!
Even protesting the excessive display (we don't have a final tab, but this won't be cheap, folks) isn't nonpolitical, or entirely "not about Trump". The s
lightly goofy big baby Trump balloon will make an appearance, and the crowd will include a sea of people wearing shirts
honoring the USS John S. McCain, a vessel named for three generations of men who fought for this country, which also, alas,
is calculated in part to annoy Trump.
It seems to me one thing that's easy enough for folks to do is be patriotic elsewhere and tune out Mr. Center-of-Attention. The day isn't about him, and we have other things in this country to be proud about. The thing of it is though, we are always reminded of
his horrible influence in this country and
the damage it is doing. Some of us might not really
be feeling in the mood to celebrate our country, right now, in view of how we see ourselves
and how the world sees us. That is reasonable, too. We have and do struggle to create a "more-perfect union" and our greatness is, in some ways,
aspirational rather than immediately felt.
