New Orleans What a great early summer weekend in America! Father’s Day on Sunday, family all together, canoeing on the bayou, eating bacon with our hands, and making memories. Oh, and before that we had the battle of the band marches, one in Washington, DC, and the other seemingly everywhere across the country. One was the Trump made-to-order military parade. The other was the No Kings marches in more the 2000 communities.
The No Kings organizers deserve a lot of credit, and that’s not just because my personal default would be to always give credit to organizers. Despite Trump’s provocation that he was going to meet any major protests that disrupted the army outing, No Kings made Philadelphia, the cradle of democracy, the signature event, and didn’t take the bait to either go face to face with Trump or allow him to play the numbers games where he inflates his crowds exponentially. Texas Governor Abbott and his mobilization of the National Guard to deal with the protests in Dallas, Houston, and elsewhere makes him look, once again, foolish. This wasn’t putting roses in the barrel of guns, 60’s style, but darned close to it.
They also got the word out, and it would be worth taking a good look at how they did that and did it in a way that anyone could add people – lots of people – and stir. The claim of 2000 cities and towns in the mix could even be an undercount. The first counting that there were several million participants has now ballooned between 5 and 12 million. We’ll never know, but we do know some things that are startling. The broadness of the protests was astounding. There were more than two dozen in deep red Indiana. There was a protest in Leesville, Louisiana, Harrison, Arkansas, and, judging from Facebook posting that hit my scroll, hundreds of other small towns. This was not just Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Philly, and the like. This was red state and blue showing out. The base was standing up and breaking the silence.
In a funny, but striking way, Trump got the message and was subdued in Washington, for a change disciplined and restrained, while amazingly not making it about him for a change. Sure, he was tempted and in the runup to the parade wanted it to be intimidating and a show of force to the world and fury to his domestic doubters and detractors, but it didn’t work.
Inadvertently, he may have shown another face of the nation’s military than the one he was trying to mobilize in Los Angeles against immigrants. I have interviewed Max Boot on Wade’s World about his book on former President Reagan, so I read his column in the Washington Post about the parade. He noted the diversity of the troops that was more representative than what Trump and his team want to admit and outlaw. He underlined the fact that from the tanks and the ranks, there were smiles and waves. I have family that have served in the National Guard as well as for decades in the US Army in and out of uniform. On WhatsApp, it was clear that they enjoyed watching the parade, just as Boot did. Why wouldn’t they? There’s pride and honor in service to your country with great risk and little reward.
Trump tried to incite. He wasted precious money and resources. He may have made the USA even look weak, rather than strong, but the marches and the parade are both signifiers of the real America. Men and women carrying signs and men and women wearing uniforms are part and parcel of the country in a way that Trump can’t even seem to imagine.
Let’s be honest for a minute. Everyone loves a parade. When military bands join Mardi Gras parades, there’s clapping and foot stomping, not jeers and boos. When they raise the flag at Pelican games, everyone stands, hand on heart, hats mostly off in deep blue New Orleans. These are also the same people carrying handmade signs reminding Trump that they are his boss, rather than the other way around, and that we are everywhere. The No Kings marchers also serve, just as passionately and patriotically. We need more of them, too.
Both of these events need to teach the president some life lessons about his real duty and responsibilities as well. That they won’t is a tragedy, but that they should is an obligation.