1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Speaking as a member of a military family and a proud supporter of our troops, we need to call Donald Trump’s military parade what it was: an embarrassment. This tribute to the president’s vanity came with a 40 million dollar price tag (USA Today)—although it’s difficult to see where that taxpayer money went, given the unimpressive results. The parade was ostensibly to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army—a worthy occasion indeed—but by all accounts, the Army was already working on its own plans for a commemoration before the President hijacked the event scheduled for what just happened to be his birthday. Surely this contributed to the slapdash appearance of the parade. Something that should have been a noble tribute to our Army became a creaking monument to the President’s vulgarity, complete with tacky corporate sponsorship. Instead of touting the greatness of our American military, this parade served only to remind us of the President’s inherent weakness. This insipid parade comes just days after cheap “Make America Great Again” merchandise was sold at Fort Bragg, turning a military post into a tawdry souvenir stand—in flagrant violation of Defense Department policy. At that same event, the President gave a blatantly partisan and political speech to service members in uniform, who were allegedly hand-selected for their political views and their willingness to boo the President’s political opponents. This is deeply troubling, but also a further indication of the President’s fragile ego and desire to spin a narrative. Say it loudly: Our troops are not props in the President’s reality show. The way to reclaim our country’s dignity begins with calling this birthday parade what it was: a failure.