One of our goals in the CEG is to share our views with one another with suggestions to contact our elected officials and to forward the suggestion to our friends and family who may share those views.
Our first suggestion of the year comes from Diana Caplow, (with some additional information from others) regarding President Trump’s desire for a parade, possibly on Veterans day with a huge show of military might.
It seems appropriate to express your feelings about the President’s proposed “grand” military march, to your representatives, and to the White House.
With 10,000 homeless in Seattle, people hungry in Puerto Rico, the New York subway falling apart, Amtrak needing some assistance, a short list; is a military parade a proper use of millions of dollars?
Some comments have included:
Senator Richard Durbin, (D-Illinois) described the proposal as a “fantastic waste of money”.
“This is definitely not a popular idea,” added Paul Rieckhoff, the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, describing the feedback he is getting from members of the largest group of post-Sept. 11 veterans
Our Congressional Repersentative, Adam Smith, stated, ““A military parade of this kind would also be a departure from the values of our constitutional democracy. We are a nation of laws, not of one person. In the past, we have held military parades to celebrate major national events such as the Gulf War or the end of World War II, as achievements by the American people who fought in and supported those efforts. A military parade like this — one that is unduly focused on a single person — is what authoritarian regimes do, not democracies.”
During the 1950s, some in the White House approached President Dwight D.Eisenhower, himself a decorated military general, suggesting the U.S. do the same, to show off American might. “Eisenhower said absolutely not, we are the pre-eminent power on Earth,” Beschloss says, recalling Eisenhower’s response. “For us to try to imitate what the Soviets are doing in Red Square would make us look weak.”
Contact Information for our Federal Senators and Representative
Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2621
https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme
Senator Maria Cantwell
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3441
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/contact/email
Congressman Adam Smith
2264 Rayburn Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-8901
a military parade is an outrageous idea