I am a veteran and decided to spend the day yesterday in quiet contemplation. But on the way to the train uptown I walked as close to Madison Square Park as I could. On 23rd St I couldn't too noticed the trucks -- thank you Matt Gallagher for articulating their presence so artfully.
I often go through the park and stop at the north end, where there is a lovely monument to Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, with an inscription about the "daring and sagacious commander...a gentle great souled man...." I stood across from the park and the statue and said a prayer, that we might find a sagacious, gentle, and great souled leader who will inspire - not incite - us.
4
Veteran's Day. A day to honor the sacrifice of our veterans.
Independence Day. A day to celebrate our independence from a repressive monarch.
Yet Trump has made both days of remembrance, celebration and honoring those who defend, defended and have died defending our country all about him. Trump has deflated and defiled the very meanings of those two days in order for the adoration to continue. And in that spectacle we have forgotten what those two days represent.
On November 10th of this year I hoisted my flag and the flag signifying I am a Vietnam veteran. There was no ceremony. No pomp. But in hoisting those flags I remember my brothers and sisters killed in far away wars defending freedom of others, and war on our own soil (no, I will not get into the politics of that war).
And we see the spectacle from NYC, Trump, who avoided service due to possible dubious means, tarnishing my day, my brothers and sisters day, to garner more adoration.
Shameful of Trump to take my day away.
I do offer a belated salute to my fellow veterans and hope the future is favorable.
For Trump, I ask that he never again hijacks our two important days for his glorification.
Retired Army.
335
@Dan ...I’m an RVN veteran as well, and I share your sentiments concerning Trump. The guy hijacks just about everything that’s noble and good about America.
Not everything is about Trump...Veteran’s Day is one of them.
Thanks for going and glad you made it back.
33
@Dan
Yes Dan - Trump has hijacked not just Veteran's Day but patriotism overall.
However, long before Trump snuck in, commercialism had already hijacked patriotism and truly ruined the concept. Militarism, actually hyper-militarism, also hijacked patriotism long ago.
I too "hoist the flag" in private so as not to play into the commercialized, militarized version dominating the culture.
7
thank you for your service and welcome home
1
Trump's treatment of McCain was and IS inexcusable.
His treatment of the Kahn Gold Star family was inexcusable.
He should be begging these people for forgiveness. What he did
cannot be erased by his cheapest of words on Veteran's Day. The
man is a pathological fraud. How veterans can support his lies is a mystery to me.
24
Re: "...At the New York parade, the question was “Are you booing, or cheering?”
Neither! I wasn't marching, watching, or otherwise participating...
As a retired 1st Responder, I could march along with my apparatus, (a paramedic ambulance), in this parade, but...as I worked at the late great 1-W.T.C. for a few years after I put the 1st. Responder career to bed...and as we HAVEN'T located any N-W.M.D.'s in Iraq / anywhere else, that we DIDN'T already know, about, and...as we are still committing a corporate profiteering crime in Iraq / Afghanistan, w/o much to show for it...other than the 'Gold Star' families, so, easily mocked by President Trump...
I refuse to participate in any 'celebration' of these foreign policy abominations!
3
If we really want to honor veterans, we should stop sending them off to senseless wars. There hasn't been one in my lifetime (seventy years now) which has been worth fighting. Perhaps Afghanistan would have been, if we had really been serious about going after Osamma bin Laden, but we weren't. Even that was just a set-up for Iraq.
5
It boggles the mind that any vet would support the 5X draft dodger.
8
Perhaps a decent response to the question, "You booing ... or cheering?" could be, "I honor our veterans. I honor what they fought for. I wish we were living up to whatever that is."
1
Why is it so hard nowadays to just remember with thanks those who served our precious nation and responded to “duty, honor, country”. Without all the political gobbledygook ? Is this the price we pay for outsourcing our military to an all volunteer corps. Or are Americans less patriotic ? Less mindful of the sacrifices of those who protected our precious freedoms ? Or have we just become collectively mean spirited as a nation ? Or are we just overwhelmed by our corrosive politics at all levels ?
Since Pearl Harbor almost half a million Americans have given their lives in defense of our nation. Why can’t we simply honor their service in quiet dignity and appreciation ? Don’t they at least deserve that respect ? To those of us who have served the intrusion of corrosive politics into our day of remembrance is just plain mean spirited. Lets pledge to do better next year and leave the politics at the gate where they belong.
“We can never do enough for Veterans”. That Is true now as it was true after the War. Least we can do is honor their service and sacrifice. Leaving the politics at the gate.
3
I enlisted during Vietnam, went over twice prior to being discharged. I thought it was a valid objective as a young teen and have since come to see the errors of youthful naïveté.
I’m always amused at people including veterans who dislike people protesting usually GOP military objectives.
It tends to be articulated as they fought to protect citizens constitutional rights but don’t dare exercise those rights if they don’t like what’s being said, like the person who called the lady ungrateful for being anti-trump.
So what am I a trump despising veteran to do? I fought for my rights but I’m suppose to shut up because trump supporters don’t like it? Why is it always a one way street with these right wing nut jobs? They can say anything they want but don’t subject these snowflakes to anything they find distasteful.
18
Trump has deliberately divided our country. He's done it as a strategy to hold on to his base of support. This is our president and so-called, "commander in chief".
He used a phony excuse to stay out of the military. He betrayed the Kurds who fought beside our troops. He's favored Putin and Russia over our own intelligence professionals. He's being used as a Russian asset whether he knows it or not.
How any veteran or non-veteran can support this profoundly dishonorable man is enormously puzzling.
24
"What that thing was to say, though, I still don’t know."
How about: "Let's pretend for an hour that Trump doesn't exist and talk to each other about our lives. What's the best thing that ever happened to you?"
5
Former Trump Administration staffer, Mattis said it best, "I earned my spurs on the battlefield, Trump earned his in a letter from his doctor."
20
The most memorable and poignant thought from this column for me is:
"Something about the day’s ambiguous intent (the offspring of Armistice Day in the era of forever war is a dark, twisted irony) and our nation’s many proud battle triumphs and myths produce a strange blend of earnest patriotism every November."
Arguably there is a need to be armed in this world. Yet we have been involved in avoidable and/or interminable conflicts for decades. Not only do we waste the lives of many but the treasure as well. Didn't Ike say it well about the tradeoffs between bombers and schools?
So much of our gov't reminds me of a line closing G. Wawro's book, Sons of Freedom, about American soldiers in WW1:
"Too often the Doughboys were lions lead by donkeys."
Our leaders today need to be more like lions to be worthy to lead lions.
2
Man, I thought Obama's presidency was divisive but this suggests Trump's is on a whole other level.
Keitr: A very important distinction is that President Obama wasn’t intentionally divisive. I believe him being black was the source of most of the divisiveness—a significant portion of the population just couldn’t abide that (much larger than we would like to admit). trumputin, by contrast, actively attempts to rile up the polarized populace. He revels in it and is counting on it to aid in his re-election.
14
Thoughtful and interesting article. Great observation of the human condition and wrestling with the meaning of Veterans Day in an age of discord.
3
As a Vietnam veteran (grunt) I find any support for Donald Trump a violation of the core beliefs that service to country
are founded on. I find it sad and disheartening that so many fellow vets support him. He is not fit to shine the boots of those I served with.
23
Why do NYT/WaPo keep getting into the trap of "fake news"? The actual parade was nothing like your writer describes and this headline is TOTALLY MISLEADING!: "A Very Trumpish Veterans Day:At the New York parade, the question was “Are you booing, or cheering?",- NOT the actual parade. We in the VETS REVIEWING STAND saw none of the stuff, with the speeches and the garbage trucks pictured and described. nothing. ALL THAT took place @MADISON SQ PARK. we were 17 blocks away @THE NYPUBLIC LIBRARY STEPS @5thAve/42ndSt. the only political thing we saw was one pro-trump 2020 poster across the street, further south, hanging on a barricade, easy to ignore. Most viewers the length of the ACTUAL PARADE saw none of that. EVERYTHING where we were was nothing but good-natured helpful fellowship, helpful in the literal sense that some vets needed physical help and all hands were there. so friendly, EG, a naval officer was in front of us with his wife and we interacted totally in the spirit. when he left, i said something like nice, sharing this with you, and he memorably said (Nick heard this): "See you here next year, God willing." and we saluted. that was what we experienced. time line is important here. the speeches happened @11am. the parade did not reach us til 12:20 or so.we vets in the vets reviewing-stand totally kept the A-POLITICAL spirit of the day.
9
Yeah. Well - good reporters tend to get in at the beginning, behind the scene, where the real action is rather than just cover the carefully-staged part. But glad you found some common ground, none the less.
30
@larrys You guys were in different places, and saw different things. Funny how that works.
43
@larrys
So the reporter had a different experience of the parade than you, so it must be made up? That's the fakest-news mindset of all! The writer was in a different location and was out in the crowd talking to a bunch of different kinds of people; you say you were in a specific veteran's area 17 blocks away. I would expect you two to have very different experiences based on that.
46
Trump's moving to Florida? Yeah, sure he is.
Now when he leaves the WH, he's stopped hiding like a hermit crab in his various shells in Florida and New Jersey.
Why go to Arlington to honor veterans, when instead he can roil the political waters in a city he claims to have left behind? Why be Orr try to act like a president at all, when he can inflame people's passions?
Of course he was still hiding on Veterans Day. Doing so behind a phalanx of garbage trucks provided a metaphorically apt image of what Trump is.
13
Show instead of gratitude!
Draft dodger at Veteran's day dividing America for his benefit. Wow, where am I? Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia? He knows more than any other human on earth. GOP followers say so. Watch it go wrong! Blinded by their leaders. People used to laugh when I told them there is a under ground America. Now it has it's own TV channel.
8
Thank you for a heartfelt and evenhanded article.
Despite the heated rhetoric on both sides, we’ve seen stronger, more vehement, and occasionally violent disagreement over the condition of our republic.
Even during the strongest disagreements in memory, we’ve given one another the benefit of the doubt and decided our collective fate resides in respecting our fundamental rights to privacy, free speech, and a free press.
Current reality is unfortunate, inasmuch as Trump is contravening that very respect for the fundamentals which make our country unique and strong by hiding behind non-existent privileges.
No matter the gravity and seriousness of our day to reflect on the sacrifices of our men and women in the military, I cannot respect his unprincipled behavior until he allows every person to speak freely, openly and clearly about what is happening right now.
1
Ironic that a draft dodger leads Veterans Day Celebration.
12
If you have to ask that, you're in the wrong country.
How appropriate / ironic: Trump delivering a speech buttressed by garbage trucks. Someone (not the Orange One) has a sense of humour!
11
Trump even cons veterans.
5
With trepidation I walked to meet my group for a pre parade gathering. I had not yet decided if I wanted to participate in an event associated with this president. As I approached the parade route, I witnessed several interactions that fit the authors description.
I was struggling with the idea that I may unintentionally give credence to a vile president. On the other hand, I did not want to let one person dictate my experience on a day celebrating the veteran community. I mulled this debate over in my head as I walked from the west side. Ultimately, I did not participate in the parade. The day was tainted by his presence and I did not want to be associated with him.
I believe that any person who creates such a void on a day that has long signified unity should not be invited to the parade, let alone lead a country.
15
@Charles - i laud your thoughtful approach to the day. I skipped the parade, and the highlight of the day for me was when I was getting off a bus in the early afternoon, I saw a young man wearing an Army Expert Infantry Badge, pinned simply to his jacket. I'm a Navy veteran and didn't take the time to explain that or how I recognized the insignia, just said Happy Veterans Day as he started to board the bus. He looked at me, said thank you, and we shared a smile. That moment of connection made the day for me. Although you didn't join your group, I hope you had some moments of camaraderie and connection yesterday.
2
I was taught by my parents - both Veterans of World War II, and my Dad of Korea as well - that booing was not polite. We were always told to keep our negative feelings under wraps, and if we didn't have anything nice to say, we were to say nothing at all.
Well, no more. We have a president who, unlike any other, has declared a personal war on the press, Constitutional norms, and the truth. In this personal vendetta against all of the above, he has enlisted his base to spout hatred and nonsense. We read it, we see it, and we respond with comments and letters to our representatives, but it seems that nothing can be done to make him stop. At times our only alternative is booing to show our disgust and to demonstrate that support for this administration is not as widespread as Trump wants his followers to believe.
As we get closer to the holidays, let us all be thankful that it is only booing, jeers and signs being paraded around. As another commenter already said, the worst thing this president has done has been to divide our country and make us suspicious and fearful of others who don't think the same way we do.
176
Let’s say I am a far-left Democrat in a parking lot who’s car won’t start because my battery is dead. Let’s say you are a hard-core Trump supporter who is parked nearby and has jumper cables. Neither of us know the other’s political views. What do you do? You offer to jump my car, and I am very appreciative. I believe that, deep down, this is who we are. Not polarized people yelling at each other with invective and hate at a Veterans’ Day parade. Life is hard and we are all in this together. I know it sounds corny, but being kind can begin to bridge the divide.
4
"I should’ve said something, I thought, to bring them (the Vietnam vet and the Iraq vet) together."
How about "Tulsi 2020", since the Army National Guard Major is the only Presidential candidate committed to honoring Constitutional rules regarding military intervention?
1
@Charles How about no to that? Gabbard is a Trojan horse about to make a third party run to siphon votes from Democrats at the behest of Putin.
In many ways, we coddle vets. I worked with the toughest kids in urban neighborhoods and have a $24,000 pension after 25 years. Some of my students were killed. My principal was killed. I share these details so you'll understand that it was a place where people bled and died. I have a nephew who just retired from the Air Force with a full disability, which means he pays no property taxes and gets other breaks. His pension is $120,000 a year and he was a tech sergeant who repaired planes. The only six figures I ever saw was my tuition at Harvard. My nephew entered the Air Force from high school.
My colleagues and I were often cast as failures due to test scores, but the military is forever hailed as heroes, no matter how many wars they lose and no matter how many trillions they're given.
I do hail the Greatest Generation for their sacrifices. They truly fought for our freedoms and they were citizen soldiers, not the mercenaries that constitute the ranks today.
6
As I was once told, “We all make choices.” Where you are now is due to choices YOU made, for whatever reason. Your nephew made his, for whatever reason. I think there’s a separate issue here than the supposed “coddling” of veterans.
3
Honorable military men and women, led by a president entirely without honor. And who probably can’t even spell the word.
8
We have fallen far. On Veteran's Day our "president" was sending out tweets about Dancing With the Stars. Pathetic.
12
garbage trucks surrounding the trash talker.
seems appropriate to me.
13
And...it's all about Trump, AGAIN! Really??
2
How ironic that the type of vehicle chosen to set up the protection blockade of Trump was a garbage truck.
4
I wonder how you know that “most military families like Trump”? Is that a fact or merely your opinion?
1
BOOING the Trump Abomination is Patriotic.
10
It's not the "Division", it is the "Mandate" claimed by a group representing at best 40% of the electorate.
Who use propaganda to obfuscate the way they have subverted many of the things the 40% thought they were voting for, and continue to defend the undefensible actions of the Disaster in (of?) Tweets.
And have created the "Divisions" on an artificial basis.
A strong Majority of Americans support significantly higher taxes on the wealthy and services we could use that money to pay for.
Ditto for Criminal Justice Reform, extending health care, Immigration Reform, and raising the minimum wage.
The Republican's Donor Class has used the Right Wing Propaganda Organs to Sabotage all of those things.
8
Trump ringed by garbage trucks, how fitting.
9
Still head-shakingly incredible that even a single sentient being could possible support the utter fraud in the White House. He has laid out who and what he is for years -- thief, con man, liar, serial adulterer, assaulter of women, lover of autocracy, egomaniac and sociopath -- yet some people find that compelling, and would happily throw themselves under a tank for him. What a species we are!
11
We may have broken from Great Britain but I'll take their Remembrance Day ceremony over ours any day. The Queen and the other members of the royal family all attend, dressed either in uniforms from the branch of the military in which they served or in somber black ensembles. All wear the poppy, no one makes a speech, the wreaths are placed with dignity at the Cenotaph. The heads of the government attend and also place wreaths and again no one speaks. Veterans march in a parade honoring those who died as well as those who lived.
The ceremony has dignity, it honors the people who served, and the focus is on the people being remembered.
We need to look back to Great Britain to take a lesson on how to deal with Remembrance, Veterans or Armistice Day -- however we want to name it.
11
Against my better judgement on Sunday 10 November I went to a local band concert/ceremony honoring veterans. As a retired Marine yes, I stood when they played the hymn, because of what the Marines did for me in my life and it was the Marine Corps birthday. I have begun to dislike flag-waving type events. In fact I wish there were an understanding that no politician would be allowed within 100 yards of a microphone on either Memorial or Veterans Day. I particularly felt this way on Sunday as in the election for the local Mayor the previous Tuesday, perhaps 25% showed up at the polls in my village. (But this has finally given me a reply to “thanks for your service”; I will ask “Did you vote in the last election? No? That privilege was purchased for you.”) I also don’t like being compelled (I suppose I could just stand and be silent) to take the Pledge of Allegiance in a public setting. My loyalty is to the Constitution and I’ve taken that oath many times. I have nothing to prove. I love and understand the folks in this place I grew up in and returned to many years later - they’re good people. I appreciate the gesture. But like the author, I’m spending my future Memorial/Veteran Days in quiet contemplation of how lucky I am to still be here after serving in two wars. And how some of my brethren are not.
15
The sordid history of this nation and the veterans and the relations with Congress and the Executive. Since the Lexington & Concord up to the present day it is a litany of promises that usually don't live up to the hype at the photo-op.
As a Viet-Nam veteran I got an ok contract with the VA but congress doesn't like funding the VA to the fully required capacity are required by the authorizations to send troops into harms way would require.
At the same time, the funding sources of congressional campaigns want to shut-down the VA and replace it with unfunded programs and vouchers that will get Veterans into their medical businesses and then slap them with the Charge Master (or bankruptcy court) when the unfunded program/voucher isn't paid. Add to that the people who own the medical care companies care more about profits than they do about caring for any but their wealthiest clients.
We need more veterans in elective office. People who got the message in their basic/boot-camp training - that we all succeed or fail together and it isn't about personal glory or fame - it is about serving our nation and it's Sovereign: We-the-People, not the few and wealthy.
6
Garbage trucks...how appropriate.
10
What an excellent piece of writing. Through the writers eyes and words I felt the anger, the frustration, the disgust of those at the event. I also felt the sadness and the sense of loss. Perhaps that feeling of loss was for those soldiers who never came home and for the loss of what a united America used to stand for.
11
It seems to me that anyone who took the same oath that I did when I was commissioned as a Naval officer cannot honorably support this fraud of a president.
18
trump certainly made America hate again.
14
A thought for those in the military and their families—ready to follow trump into battle? He’ll be at the White House, eating a burger, but in his mind he’s on a noble white steed wielding a terrible swift sword. Attack!
6
Divide and Conquer
6
Donald Trump had garbage trucks positioned to block his view of citizens protesting him. I have no words. His ego is so fragile!!
Without a doubt, he is the most insecure American president our country has ever seen. #snowflake
10
Fitting that security at an event where trump talks is provided by a fleet of garbage trucks.
11
That line from the “Pledge of Allegiance” which states - “one nation, ...indivisible...” certainly rings hollow now when observing the hatred and divisiveness Trump has sown throughout the country. I fear it will be a painfully long time before we get back the sense of shared community which has united Americans in the past, in times of crisis.
3
To Trump, nothing and no one else matters.
While his supporters love it when he disrespects and disparages a political opponent, many have to hold their noses when he similarly disparages a decorated soldier, Gold-Star family, or a bonafide patriotic public servant (over multiple administrations) who was mandated to testify under subpoena.
Trying to take over an event that is supposed to be an apolitical honoring of soldiers is right up his ally.
With Trump’s narcissism, you have to take the bad with “the good,” or….possibly take a moment to consider that perhaps the cost to our country is too high, Trump’s wrecking ball, and “go with his gut” is too indiscriminate, his disregard for rules too often includes a disregard for the rule of law….
.
5
To be honest, we seem to have a dangerous impulse to venerate all things military. The military is not necessarily the best of us. Yes, the American military has been deployed in many instances that saved endangered people. The American military has also been deployed to other places to serve our financial or political goals(Cheyney).
My departure came when our system changed to people paid to carry guns and fly bombers. In my world, these are mercenaries. Abu Ghraib is a prime example of the foible of giving life and death power over people to people who are just doing their jobs. That a good number of military and ex military can support this dishonest incompetent president further diminishes the status of the military. With Trump's fascist impulses and enough backing form the military, we could very easily become another banana republic.
8
I think it says all that when Trump appears in New York, he has to be protected by garbage trucks. At the parade activities and at his Louis IV- on- steroids decorated penthouse.
Circling the wagons is one thing; circling the garbage trucks is another.
6
Since the election of Trump, nothing tangible in my daily life has changed. And yet, my heart breaks into pieces every day. The only explanation is patriotism: I’m witnessing the death spiral of my country, and the pain is real.
16
Putin and Stalin liked military parades. It is just one of the many things that Russian dictators have in common with Trump.
9
Once again, overwhelming evidence that the office of the president should be, if not abolished, then seriously reformed to allow more than one person to make our most important decisions.
We let one guy do pretty much anything he wants and now the newspapers daily report of our own ongoing destruction. Oh well, no more help for kids. Oh well, gotta get that poison back into our waters. Oh well, we should be looking out for Russia's interests before ours anyway. Waddaryagonnadoo?
A president always becomes a cult of personality that people either accept or hold fast strong against. Every four years we play the lottery. I'm done with gambling my country away. The office of the president in its current form deserves no respect at all. Zero. And I am a proud, concerned and patriotic American.
7
Honor is a word that has not and will not ever be used to describe the current POTUS.
He doesn't have a bit of honor in him.
12
Veterans should not openly support a draft dodger, no matter what political party he is in.
7
When Trump was speaking I was thinking how insincere the man is. How could anyone who served in the Military ever support this man. He has no honor or integrity. Two virtues that Veterans share in common.
13
I was 18 and my father, a WWII veteran, was insisting I continue Bible College. I wasn't going back and said so.
"I demand you respect me!" he shouted.
"Respect has to be earned!" I countered. Then my mother slapped me in the face.
Even at 18 I knew.
And this president hasn't earned our respect like Veterans have, even if we disagree with them, they have earned our respect.
5
@Raul Campos
"noun A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements."
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/respect
Raul, I do have respect for you as a human being, having achieved much I am certain by just surviving in our world. I hope you will revise your ideas, based on the above.
1
here's something for cheering vets: a Court ruling where Trump
must pay $2 million for running his crooked Trump Foundation charity that kept money intended for veterans.
15
The situation described here fits the following to a 'T': "Elect A Clown, Expect a Circus".
7
Trump is the enemy of the people whose guiding principle is greed. This person does not care if he destroys the future of our children and grandchildren. He is the lowest of the low.
(US Army 1972-1992)
11
So 45 reads monotonously a bogus speech praising veterans after recently being fined for stealing millions of dollars from a veterans' charity. What a fraud, what a shame.
17
Only a raging narcissist could choose to divert the attention on a sacred Veterans Day remembrance away from those honorable patriots who have sacrificed so much, including the ultimate sacrifice, for all of us back to himself. That he was a draft dodger who cowardly avoided military service and then contemptuously referred to his avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases as his “personal Vietnam”, solidifies his appearance in New York as a total national obscenity. Not a word of condemnation is issued by any Republican Congressional official to this totally unacceptable breach of basic citizenship, let alone presidential conduct. Every day that Trump remains in office presents a clear and present danger to our democratic republic. He continues to normalize the abnormal.
5
The word and concept of 'Honor' and DJT don not belong together in any context.
3
Had we called it by its original name, Armistice Day, perhaps we could have made everyone stop shooting one another.
48
@n1789 There was not a call for peace at either of two events I attended.
2
@SLV I attended an official Veterans Day event, complete with elderly color guard and American Legion bikers. On the same day, I attended an Armistice Day remembrance organized by Veterans for Peace.
Ain't that America, home of the free...
3
It's rich that Trump is protected from the mob by a barrier of garbage trucks. Tells us what he really thinks of his fellow citizens. All of a piece with his self referential ramblings at his bizarre rallies. And now we've got to put up with dim bulb Don Jr. trying to create a public persona for himself.
11
Could we please have a day without Trump being center stage?
We could call it "No Trump Day."
But then, even the name of the holiday would trigger unwanted thoughts of this vile scoundrel.
6
The garbage trucks were more than barricades and highly appropriate; they symbolize where Trump has taken the country……..he has boldly gone where no President has gone before, he taken America to the dumps.
14
Thoughtful, well-written article.
12
Thank you. This was quite beautiful. I'm so sad we're here as a nation.
12
What to say? "My brother, we may disagree about this, but we agree we both fought for that right. Welcome home."
10
My guess is that all the folks with professionally made support of Trump signs drove in from out of town, and all the handmade anti- Trump protesters were genuine New Yorkers. He isn't exactly popular around here.
30
It is false one's patriotism to country and one's honor is inextricably linked to the support of an individual. It remains for history to describe when, why and how DJT managed to insert his image front and center onto the core values of patriotism and honor. Restoring pride and honor to the Presidency and public service is for electorate to address be it by calling for the impeachment and trial of DJT or in 2020, 2022 and beyond by nominating and voting for candidates who display a grace and humility a levels unimaginable by the likes of DJT, McConnell, Graham, Nunes or any candidate drawn to hyperpartisan personalities.
16
How I long for a day -- a single day -- when the president's antics do not consume all the news, all the oxygen, all the energy of every moment.
We should have a government where everyone works deliberately and quietly to promote the general welfare.
For me, it's a day without Trump.
42
Do you remember when we just to go whole weeks without hearing from Obama or Bush? I miss that. Instead it’s constant howls for attention, like a three-year-old in a tantrum. Every day, a new outrage. The man is an energy vampire.
3
What a beautifully written and sincere take on celebrating this day of remembrance in times division. I can't get past the image of NYC garbage trucks keeping the "riffraff" (i.e., citizens) out of the president's line of vision. What a day.
40
@Dora I thought that Trump surrounded by a ring of garbage trucks was actually a pretty good metaphor.
8
@Dora
A good friend's cousin was one of those garbage truck drivers. At this president's insistence, police instructed these sanitation workers, who set up the chain to protect him, not to stand on the side of the trucks facing the president or to look at him / be visible to him. I can only guess that he considers these working men and women "riffraff" too, unworthy of him.
6
@Dora I looked at the garbage trash surrounding Trump as the perfect metaphor for what he is -- garbage -- to be kept separate from decent people.
2
I'm the son of one USMC veteran and the father of another. I never served in the military, although I had ambitions to do so. I have a deep and unbinding respect for anyone who served our country. On Veterans Day, my thoughts turn to those vets who still are suffering from the physical and mental toll of their service, even though that service may have been many years ago or just recently. I don't care what their political beliefs are - love Trump or hate him - so long as we honor our promises to them about "binding their wounds".
32
It is no contradiction to love our country and be able to oppose the policies of our president. It is no contradiction to oppose "endless wars" and support our men and women in uniform. It is no contradiction to oppose nationalism and jingoism, and yet get misty-eyed when our flag goes by.
In fact, good citizenship probably requires people who can do both.
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The beauty of the American experiment is that the First Amendment gives each of us the right to express ourselves. The problem is when the bully-in-chief decides that any First Amendment speech that criticizes him is the ‘enemy of the people.’ Trump is exactly what the Founding Fathers feared: a man willing to trade his country for a few foreign contributions. He flouts the checks and balances system at every opportunity and tramples on the Constitution. Yes, Veteran’s Day should be an opportunity to remember all of those who serve and served. But when the fate of the nation hangs in the balance because someone is acting like a criminal in the Oval Office, there is little recourse but to shout out our protests.
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My Father was a veteran, so were his two brothers, they all fought during world war two, back then there were no bone spurs. My Uncle was shot down on a bombing run over Germany, i still have the flag they sent my grandmother in lieu of a son, the flag lovingly preserved. My other uncle was wounded in combat, and won the silver star, he came home and was always involved in local politics, he saw politics as a way to get things done, to make life better for everyone. My Father never talked about the war, not ever, but he worked hard and paid his taxes, and stayed married, and committed to my mother, taking pride in being a good family man. Sacrifice is forever, Trump is temporary, why talk about him on a day put aside for the bravest and best to be honored and remembered.
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@Lonnie - trump may be temporary, but the damage he has done is lasting.
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@Lonnie
Because this self-serving Presidency dishonors the service your family has given to this country and the suffering they have lived with as a result of having done so.
And on this day, the contrast between the selflessness of your family and many others like them, and the reckless damage being done by this Administration, is very sharp. It's appalling and unconscionable, and it's got to be rectified immediately.
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@barb yes, especially when we think of the courts.
I loved the ambiguity of this piece. I was an officer during the Vietnam war. I luckily didn't see combat and have been an anti-war progressive ever since.
Yesterday my granddaughter invited me to a school event honoring veterans. It was very odd for me, but I'd do anything for her. There were 35 or so veterans - parents and a few grandparents. There was lots of "patriotism," and each child held a small flag at the assembly. The Pledge of Allegiance was, as always, part of the ceremony. I find the Pledge odious, unconstitutional, and a mindless from of indoctrination for young people. Yet . . . yet . . . I put my hand over my heart, so my granddaughter would not be embarrassed. I remained inconspicuously silent. Yet . . .yet . . . I had great respect for the other veterans, who talked briefly about honor and service. I too spoke of the value of national community and service and reminded the students that there were many ways to serve.
I looked into the crowd of students and locked eyes with my 8 year-old granddaughter. She was proud that I was there. That brought a brief dampness to my eyes.
Later, in her classroom, she "interviewed" me about my service.
It was my first time doing anything on Veterans Day and I left the Army in 1969.
I am troubled by nationalist, flag-waving patriotism, yet . . . yet . . . on this day I was oddly moved.
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@Barking Doggerel Thanks for this. Perhaps it's the fact that we live in such a big community of possibilities offered/designed in the constitution. Thanks for your service on so many levels.
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Thank you for this beautifully written comment and your service to our great country.
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"Where's your honor?" asked a Trump-supporting veteran.
How does anyone conflate support for Trump with honor? With patriotism? This is a man who faked a disability to avoid serving. He's a man who disparages veterans at the drop of a hat, and then offers hollow platitudes for the sake of applause. This is a man who callously exploited a grieving military widow at his first State of The Union address. Trump uses others' military accomplishments (even a dog's) to give him a veneer of toughness. Trump just left our ISIS-fighting Kurdish brothers and sisters in arms to be slaughtered in order to gain favor with dictatorial strongmen.
So, while there are many brilliant, well-educated and thoughtful people in the military who enlisted to serve a higher calling, there are also lots of undereducated dolts who simply needed a job (yet, frustratingly, these seem to be the same veterans who are quick to stand up at ball games to be held in esteem). These are the same veterans who unthinkingly produced—and had to be ordered not to wear—t-shirts depicting American forces in the Middle East as Christian crusaders, which would only reinforce jihadist recruiting narratives. Of course veterans like this support Trump, and their time in uniform does not lend their political beliefs any special credence. Like so much of Trump's base, they are "poorly educated." In this veteran’s opinion, veterans who support Trump do not truly understand the concepts of honor, patriotism and why we fight.
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@Aaron But.... her emails....
@Aaron
Amen. No person who truly understands what "honor" means can support this President.
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Honor is an unknowable concept to Trump: just ask the Kurds. I can see no honor in supporting him.
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This is a poignant and beautiful piece. Rather than bash Trump or the protesters, I’ll consider the dilemma we’re in, and look forward to reconciliation.
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The phrase "what America is all about" is repeated quite often on holidays like Armistice Day and the Fourth of July. I suppose those who repeat these words mean something like thank goodness we have freedom of speech and the right to disagree. At least for now.
For me, the touchstone of "what we are about" is Lincoln's notion of the "better angels of our nature"--that we could be a country that once saw fit to put persons like FDR or Jimmy Carter in office, or the marvelous RBG on the Court, men and women who, I believe, represent what Lincoln was referring to, the idea that there was scope in our imperfect democracy for ethical choice to vanquish, however briefly, the greed and self-seeking our country has, unfortunately, also encouraged.
What depresses me most about our current President isn't what he does--he is, after all, a standard issue Republican concerned, as they all are, with money and nothing else; no, it's rather his utter disregard for anything ennobling in our history or national character, anything that might hold out hope that we will recover someday from the preening egotists who have oiled their way into power.
I'm also a veteran, drafted in 1970, once a patriot, now just another sad American.
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@G. O. The fact that you are saddened by the current American landscape means that you are still a patriot at heart. I echo your sentiments and, as someone who still considers himself to be a "patriot", I refuse to give up. We will get past this and perhaps, we will be more unified and better nation as a result.
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Trump’s achievement in the end will be that he truly and successfully divided this nation instead of bringing people together to construct and achieve positive leadership. Watching you neighbors from you northern border, i truly hope that it will come to an end in 2020.
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Trump has taken advantage of the existing divide in the US. Don’t you remember how people living away from social elites were referred to by Hillary Clinton? They are deplorables in flyover country. They are still derided and ignored. If the liberals would just accept that their opinions are not the only opinions that matter and listen to the deplorables, there would be less of a division.
She wasn’t talking about all his voters. She was referring to David Duke and the white supremacist crowd.
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A lot of people are saying that the pro-trump supporters at the parade were bussed in from Alabama. It does make sense. He only got a handful of votes in New York in 2016.
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@Samm Ehhh, I don't know about that. He has a fair support base in Staten Island and in areas of Jersey directly across the river. It wouldn't be too difficult for people to come in from those areas if they wanted to support him.
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So much for me to rejoice about this Veterans Day…my brother calls it Armistice day. This report reminds me that I was not alone not then nor now when I was in Service in the Republic of Viet Nam and the question even then was whether we, conscripts, had the right to choose upon whom to cast our votes.
Weren't no real question. Peoples at reveille basically regarded voting at that point in time to be irrelevant. I still, 50 years in retrospect, appreciate that I was privileged to serve. 58,479 never came back. We don't question their patriotism.
Neither is it American to question the patriotism of anyone who chooses to express an opinion. This is the essence of Freedom. The only thing these autocrats fear is Freedom.
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@Frank Correnti When my daughter was born on November 11, 1997 and I called my mother to tell her, my mother (born in 1925) said, delightedly, "On Armistice Day!"
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You're missing the point. Trump is a politicizing force in any event that is ostensibly apolitical. His mere presence creates tension and annoyance. In other words, if Trump really cared about Veterans Day he wouldn't be there at all. That he showed up in the first place is an act of disrespect and a disturbance to the general mood we should embrace. Everything else cascades from that initial decision.
He wanted a sound bite. Protesters showed up. Counter protesters naturally followed. These are actions that follow a flow chart from A to B. It's predictable. I did the same thing the one time Trump visited Salt Lake City. He was celebrating tax cuts. We were telling Trump he isn't welcome in Utah. He's still not welcome. Trump is actually fortunate anti-Trump protesters don't typically carry guns. There's been more than one incident on capitol hill before now.
Understand, the quintessential Trump is all about making everything about himself. That's absolutely not what Veterans Day is about. No wonder the scene felt odd. Trump had no business being there, much less making a speech. The honorable thing to do would have been to visit the memorial privately and go home. But Trump doesn't possess any honor. So here we are.
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@Andy Well said Andy, thank you kindly.
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I’m not a veteran (draft #294 in the first Vietnam draft lottery, and thus spared the status eventually forced upon so many of my contemporaries), so my perspective is limited and a bit skewed, no doubt. But as to the question of the two veterans who took opposite positions out of their sense of “honor,” I would say this.
I believe both men can be operating from a sincere set of beliefs about what they are honoring.
The one perhaps sees Trump as the “Commander-in-Chief,” and therefore deserving of unwavering (and somewhat blind?) fealty to whomever holds that position. I’d like to know if his respect was as great for Obama during his tenure, though, and if it was, then I can at least understand his desire to “honor” and defend the position Trump holds as the titular supreme commander of all of the armed forces. I have my doubts about that, though.
The other, who more accurately represents my own feelings, perhaps sees this particular resident of the White House as executing his Constitutional duties as Commander-in-Chief in a patently (and consistently) dishonorable and overtly political manner - e.g., disparaging Gold Star families, insulting Sen. John McCain, and questioning the patriotism of someone like Lt. Col. Vindman.
I don’t know that there are any words to help bridge the gap between those who see Mr. Trump in such different ways. Without fail, Trump brings out the worst in everyone, and it’s a crying shame he somehow reached the position he holds.
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@John / "Trump brings out the worst in everyone..."
You hit the nail on the head with that one.
He was supposed to "drain the swamp," not make it a radioactive biohazard....
.
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@John I would say that there is zero chance that the Trump supporter felt that Obama deserved respect as his commander in chief. Zero.
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@John Great comments. Wish I could click more than just “recommend”. Thanks.
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Possible impending violence or not, the individuals in the crowd displayed their own form or interpretation of patriotism. The exchange between two veterans near the end is especially poignant:
"Honor is what brought me here today." said the older anti-Trump man.
"Same," said the other, younger vet.
Early 21st Century America in a nutshell.
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Thank you Matt Gallagher for Creatively putting the puzzle pieces of our respect and anger in this celebration into a deep and well-written expression of what America is all about.
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Should Veterans Day be more of a time simply to remember all who gave their lives? No politics there.
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@Viincent Memorial Day is for honoring the fallen. Veterans Day is for all who have served.
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@Mike
Good answer. Given that Veteran's Day is for the living, it seems appropriate that the day should be full of contentious banter. It ought to be a day for reflecting on and arguing about why we serve, why we lead and why we fight. It should be messy, like democracy.
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@Mike Thank you for that - I never really thought about the difference between them, but of course, that's it.
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It's time that we the electorate review our past and recognize the oblivious that in choosing our Commander and Chief. it is somewhat significant to take in to account the following: Respect for all to be equal under the flag of freedom for all. It might be the appropriate moment that to ridicule and mock individual who suffer inherent disabilities or the loss of a family member as the pinnacle of who is least best or most worst to guild our nation.
Putin supports Trump!
Should You?
16
Matt, thank you for an excellent, well written reflection of your Patriot's Day experience. I felt the full range of emotions, as if I was observing the Veterans Day theater through your eyes. I felt the frustration, the disgust and most significantly the palpable sense of how a sun-lite November day in the City could suddenly turn violent. It's as if these great tectonic political forces are scrapping together and about to erupt in divisive conflict and what this portends for our democracy. One flashback to the Vietnam War protests of the 60's and 70's was the ring of garbage trucks barricading Trump. It reminded me of an anti war protest in Washington, DC many years ago when they surrounded the White House with buses parked bumper to bumper around the entire perimeter. The symbolism of garbage protecting Trump was an apropos variation of history repeating itself.
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"As we marched up Fifth Avenue, ciphers and proxies for a republic as divided as we are about our elected leader......"
He wasn't elected.
Bush Jr. and Trump share many traits, but the two most glaring are their shared ignorance, and the fact they each got "elected" based on a rigged and possibly stolen election. They were and are, illegitimate.
They can only go further downhill from there, and both have done exactly that.
Please don't insult the American populace by insisting Trump was "elected" President. By every measure of the word "elected", he wasn't.
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@Van Owen --In that regard, none of our presidents are "elected." They are all more or less "appointed" by the electors of the electoral college. In fact, we could easily do away with our presidential campaigns altogether, end nationwide voting (which accomplishes nothing and is just pretending that citizens have a voice) and just let the electoral college select the president. The outcomes would be the same and we would save time, money and the frustration and arguing that the nation experiences every four years, for no reason.
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Ms. Pea -
Electors are what we choose when we vote. Each party in each state, according to the rules of that state, puts together a slate of Electors for each presidential election. There are no permanent Electors. So, our act of voting is important. The Electors never come together as a whole, to vote. They are supposed to met together in each state and cast their ballots. And, according to the Constitution, the Electors cannot be in Congress or hold a federal position of trust or profit.
However, recent rulings by the Supreme Court indicate that the electors are allowed to vote their conscience, and are not constrained by the vote of the people. Most parties require would be Electors to sign a pledge to vote in accord to the popular vote. They may be punished by the party that selected the slate, but not the state itself, if they become “fraudulent electors” and vote for someone else. The most recent Supreme Court ruling was that states (and parties) may not replace an Elector who becomes a “fraudulent elector” once they are gathered together to cast their Elector ballots. (The lists submitted by each party usually have alternate Electors in case someone is not able to attend the gathering.)
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A simple constitutional amendment stating that the president of the United States is chosen by the citizens of the United States in a free and solemn election would do the trick. Does anyone think it is possible?
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One detail captures everything Trumpist about this parade -- that it was garbage trucks used as barriers between V.I.P.s and the crowds. There can't be enough of such vehicles to carry off what this president has done to the country.
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@SGK This reminds me of an old Canadian story - possibly apocryphal, possibly true. In the (dirty) thirties a politician (I don't remember which one) met in a rural setting with a group of farmers. In order to be heard he climbed up on a manure spreader to make his speech. An old farmer at the back shouted out "Start er up. She's got a full load".
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Well, at least using Garbage Trucks for a barrier is quite appropriate for the person it was intended to protect.
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It is an ironic saving grace that Trump is not worth fighting anything over. At bottom he depresses us all.
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Veterans served this country.
The Trumps "serve" only themselves.
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Great article. Yesterday’s social media posts fell all over themselves thanking veterans ‘for their service’. I think many of the posts were disingenuous at best, when we don’t come to the defense of a maligned, decorated Lt. Col. Vidman doing his duty. Allowing this man to be attacked by Fox News hacks shows just how much many ‘appreciate their service’.
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@Jim Liebman Even worse, the veterans of current wars who suffer life changing injuries - both physical and mental - return home to neglect and poverty. The patriotic enthusiasm that sent them to war is lacking when it is needed to treat the aftermath. Canada is no better.
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How could anyone speak of honor when supporting Donald Trump?
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I was wandering down Broadway and found myself on 23rd at noon. Trump was about to come out and I chose to walk away.
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The author seems to have conflated Memorial Day with Veteran’s Day - a common error, although Veteran’s DAy at its inception was associated with the solemnity of the Armistice Day for WW I.
At least the article was useful in that I didn’t know President Trump had given a speech in NYC. No mention of it on the mainstream media, let alone what he had to say.
Hopefully, I will be able find it somewhere on the internet...Reminds me of when I was a kid in the sixties, and I used to stay up late listening to Radio Free America...even Radio Hanoi was less biased then. Now I cruise the internet with my iPad, instead of the radio waves with my HealthKit shortwave receiver!
Most interestingly, I don’t read Fox News - ever. Only NYT, Waco, CNN and WSJ. Don’t need more than that to see the misinformation and bias. They don’t lie (President Trump is wrong on that), rather they misinform by subtle means - using words incorrectly in ways that have implications(and leave impressions), by leaving out critical information, and by repeating certain lines and narratives in ways that mistakenly given the impression of popular affirmation of their political opinions masquerading as news.
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@Francis Like most Trump supporters your relationship with the truth is tenuous, and dependent entirely on what you want to see and hear. I'm sure you do not 'read Fox News' in that it is a cable entertainment station, not a published, vetted newspaper. Perhaps you meant you don't go to their Internet Site. Your complaint about the reporting is biased in itself, it's hard to report on an administration as corrupt as this one, or on a "leader" as divisive and disgusting as Trump, without saying words that you Trump supporters find offensive. If you do not like the reporting, please choose more wisely in 2020.
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I’m surprised by a part of your comment. NYT carried a piece on November 6th about the upcoming parade, as well as a piece yesterday that included excerpts of the President’s speech.
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@Francis Sounds like you are twisting yourself into a pretzel to avoid recognizing how bad Trump is. And, frankly, I don't believe for a second you don't watch Fox.
6
Putting oneself front and center at the Veterans Day parade in NYC is far more ego satisfying than just placing a wreath at the Unknown Soldier's tomb. Fewer people will be there watching, and no speech is expected.
Trump did himself proud by attending a day to honor our veterans, ignoring that he showed dishonor and denigrated a war hero (McCain) and picked a fight with a Gold Star family .
There is no honoring veterans in that performance.
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In case it is lost in the noise, the unity was not broken by Trump or his supporters, but by protesters who chose to focus on their own negative feelings towards Trump rather than on the veterans. Most military families like Trump. Too bad the protesters chose to politicize a day set aside for remembering our vets, living and dead.
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@ehillesum If I heard it correctly, Presidents usually doesn't attend this event (most put a wreath down for the Unknown Soldier among other things). So Trump chose this. And you shouldn't suggest that veterans don't deserve the freedom of speech they have fought for just because you like Trump.
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@ehillesum Political protests are part and parcel of the American experience for national holidays. I remember in the 1960's the protesters against the war in Vietnam. I supported their right to protest even though disagreed with them. I support the right of people today to protest the administration's actions; this time I happen to agree with them. The 1st amendment to the Constitution has given us the right to express our thoughts and views as long as they are done in a peaceful manner and no one should take that away from us.
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@ehillesum They weren't booing Trump. They were booing Trump's bone spurs.
You know, love the sinner, hate the sin.
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This veteran is just saddened.
What Trump is doing to my country is horrible.
Friends and families are split.
My West Point brother is a Trumper.
He has trouble giving me a single redeeming character trait of Trump.
I ask him 'What will you tell your grandchildren when this is finally over?'
How any service member can respect this draft- dodging chicken hawk is beyond me.
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Time and again, Trump has passed up opportunities to begin unifying the country. In fact, he sows the seeds of discord every way he can. He has made no attempt to reach out to the half of the country that didn't vote for him. He has made no pretense of being president for all Americans. He could have, starting with his inauguration speech three years ago, begun the process of healing the country after the election. But, he has never taken steps to do so. Trump has so affected the psyche of the nation that we can't even watch a silly TV show like "Dancing with the Stars," or take our children to enjoy a parade without it turning into a political spectacle. Trump is responsible for the environment in which we find ourselves. He thrives on conflict and chaos.
35
Ever since his corrupt cowardly dishonorable unpatriotic paternal German grandfather fled Germany for America to avoid criminal prosecution for dodging the military draft no member of the Trump family has ever volunteered nor been drafted into wearing the military uniform of any American armed force.
Donald Trump attacked and condemned John McCain bona fides as a war hero for becoming a POW. Trump's bone spurs kept him safe from becoming a POW while chasing women and playing golf.
Trump regularly, routinely and corruptly attacked the Gold Star Khizr Khan brave patriotic honorable parents .
No daughter nor son of Donald Trump nor Donald himself can stand near John McCain, III nor Humayun Khan nor Colin Kaepernick nor Muhammad Ali nor Tommie Smith nor John Carlos nor Bayard Rustin nor Milton Olive, III nor Dorrie Miller nor Colin Powell nor Charles Rangel.
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@Blackmamba: Isn't amazing that Trump's "bone spurs," through a act of God, miraculously disappeared on the day the Vietnam War ended? Knowing that he is a coward, Trump has to act like he is pro-veteran. "Its all about the votes baby."
1
There is no honor in Trump.
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I thought you were not a “veteran” unless the war was over ?
2
Anyone who has served in the military and recieved an honorable discharge or retired from the military is a veteran. Active duty service members are also veterans, as are members of the Reserve. Now you know.
1
Trump ruins everything he touches. Even Veterans' Day.
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Trump has a true gift for driving wedges between people.
13
How fitting that Trump's "wall" would be made of garbage trucks.
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Trump is a Vietnam war draft dodger whose daddy bought him a different for supposed bone spurs....so shameful, he is not even a legitimate president...we know that. His presence at the Veteran's Day ceremony was an insult to all Veteran's.
18
trump is for trump and trump only.
he's worse than chicken hawks like rush, hannity, Chaney.
how this country trashed John Kerry and John McCain while electing an unstable narcissist with bone spurs is beyond me.
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Veterans' Day is for those who served, One thing Mr. Trump has never done is serve. First it was the phony bone spurs. Ever since, there's always been some excuse, some litigation, some pretense of omnipotence to get out of actually doing something selflessly for somebody else. Now he's the head honcho of the mightiest military machine in creation, without spending a single day in uniform. Why oughtn't he pop down to New York to hijack the day of observance for America's actual veterans? Sad . . .
21
Trump's appearance at the parade was political and engendered protests on both sides. And don't forget this is the man who attacks veterans.
28
Veterans Day has diverged in much the same way our country has been riven. Parades to honor military service after the world wars cracked in the wake of Vietnam as the camel's nose of politics breached the olive drab veneer which previously united us in support of both service and concomitant sacrifice to our veterans.
The end of the draft was the death knell for unity. Now the privileged could rest easily as the "little people" became the mercenaries for now seemingly endless wars of choice around the globe.
We need to restore national service as an expectation for our citizens whether in the military or in hardscrabble parts of the country in other ways to restore both an understanding of and vehicle for the restoration of national unity.
(US Navy 1991-2005)
32
At most times the commander in chief represents our patriotic inclinations, but Trump has made a mockery of patriotism and the position of commander in chief as he represents only himself and the worst of our natures. A commander in chief protects all of us while Trump in his political machinations only represents those who declare their personal loyalties. I have always honored the position of president even when I disagreed with them vehemently, but Trump does not represent America only himself and in that he disqualifies himself from being commander in chief or the president.
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@just Robert
He is a draft dodger and has financially taken advantage of all that is great about America.
He knew people would be upset by being in nyc vs at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier
He is a coward and a worthless bully. Just wait till the history books are written about the sorry state of his being
Everyone honors the veterans because they are the backbone of this country. Trump has no character so he honors nothing that is why his parents sent him away to school because they couldn’t be bothered with his craziness
Democracy is on the march and the GOP are in retreat
19
It is very difficult to take a quick look at the front page and see so many decisions being pushed by the administration that are detrimental to our society. The downward plunge is dizzying. From environment to foreign affairs we are being unraveled. Just saying.
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@S Mitchell
I feel exactly like you. Waking up to the story that the "EPA" will now invalidate all existing clean water and air regulations, because scientists would have to reveal confidential private medical records, to Trump hosting Kurd-killer Erdogan to Trump hijacking Veterans Day for another propaganda event, it's enough to make you feel permanently sick to know that 60 million Americans have gotten us here.
6
"These are treacherous times and the only thing worse than picking a side is not."
Mr. Gallagher, you captured the dissonance of a national holiday usually known for unity. When I heard the president was attending the parade, a first for Veterans Day parades in NY (or anywhere I think), I shuddered. What will he say?
I normally don't listen to his speeches but decided, this day I must. For the most part, he performed as well as he could, using his "Teleprompter Trump" cadence and mien.
But when he launched into bravado speech about the killing of the ISIS leader, I winced. Was this the time and place?
The president has divided this nation to a degree never before seen. Mercifully, he stuck to script for the rest of the ceremony, only returning to Trumpian tweeting on his return to Washington.
At Sunday Mass, we concluded Mass with "God Bless America." The words hit me with new emotion, as I pondered the future of my country.
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@ChristineMcM
"But when he launched into bravado speech about the killing of the ISIS leader, I winced. Was this the time and place?"
Of course it wasn't but Trump and his followers are too ignorant to know that. Trump didn't honor the Vets, he doesn't know how to honor anyone or anything.
He wants to attend the May Day parade in Moscow where the Russians display their military strength. Trump is too dumb and ignorant to know that only weak countries and men with no strength have to put on a "show." America's strength has always been a known fact in the world until now when we have a weakling in the WH pretending he's a big man.
7
Watching the nation exposed as plunging toward being just another blatantly corrupt oligarchy is hard, but pain comes from denial. The comforting thing to say at this point might be from that old Paul Simon song, American Tune, about living through history, suffering exposure of the truth about the ideal of American goodness, about weariness of the brokenhearted - "It's alright. We can't be forever blessed."
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@Leigh I have had American Tune in my head numerous times since 2016- so fitting.
2
My heart breaks at how this man has divided America, even more than it was. Of all the terrible things he has done, and the list is exhaustive, making Americans hate each other is by far the most devastating, and likely the hardest to recover from.
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@Deb And it is also sad that he has turned veteran on veteran.
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@Deb
trump is a traitor to veterans, the American people, our government, and our US Constitution. He actively works for Putin. He tries to pin the 2016 interference in our election on Ukraine. He leaves our Kurdish allies against ISIS in the lurch to Russia and Turkey. trump is breaking up NATO, which has ensured peace since the end of WWII. trump opened up Iran from abiding by an agreement by our allies, the US, and Iran from enriching uranium.
yep, trump is a traitor. LOCK HIM UP!
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@Dan
Remember there have always been dissenters... Veterans Against Vietnam..which among other things kept John Kerry from the Presidency.
8