Summary: Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to plan a military parade later this year to showcase U.S. military might. He got the inspiration from France’s Bastille Day celebration which he attended in Paris last year. The White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, estimated that the event will cost between $10 to $30 million and the funds will either be appropriated by Congress or come from money that has already been approved. The last time the U.S. had a military parade was in 1991, celebrating the U.S. victory in the first Gulf War. However, Democrats and some Republicans have expressed concerns about the event, questioning the need for the parade, which may display authoritarian tones.
Questions:
Do you think having a military parade is a good idea? Is it worth the money?
How do you think other countries might perceive the event?
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27 comments:
Though some people may portray this as an authoritarian/dictatorial event, I simply think this is Trump’s way of being extremely patriotic. Yes, love for one’s country is important to some degree, but does there really have to be such a huge budget behind this event? I suppose it depends on how many people he’s estimating to be part of the show and how extravagant it will be, but I personally don’t believe it’s worth the cost if it’s just going to be a bunch of military personnel marching around. The military and every person that’s part of it definitely is deserving of respect for their service, but I believe that that money ought to go to increasing their paychecks or to some public welfare service rather than a sparkly spectacle.
Nah I don't think that a military parade is a good idea. The budget is too big for it and it seems rather excessive in my opinion. Like Angelique said, it seems overly patriotic on Trump's part and there's no real reason to back up this plan if it's just a bunch of military marching. While I'm not diminishing our military and veterans and what they bring to our country's protection, there seems to be issues that have to be addressed like social welfare, income taxes, national debt, and Trump's health care plan. We need to save our budget on things that could significantly impact our country. Other countries wouldn't make much of it in my opinion. They might see it as respectable, but everyone knows blowing this much of their budget on a military march is a fool move. If we prioritize this, we are undervaluing many issues at hand
Although the parade is patriotic, it's not worth the cost nor the time to carry out. President Trump could be spending 10-30 million dollars doing something that will actually help the citizens rather than blowing it away on a parade to show patriotism. There isn't much benefits carrying out this march. Some argue that it is a way to honor the troops and give respect to their service, but as Angelique said, the money should be going to their paychecks or to the VA hospital. That's a more reasonable alternative. Trump needs to pay more attention to the urgent issues rather than planning a march.
Just by doing a quick google search, one can already identify the controversy behind this idea. Articles (such as this one: https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2018/02/14/trumps-plans-for-military-parade-evocative-of-patriotic-history-not-north-korea/)
talk about the parade being for patriotism, and not to spite North Korea or other countries. However, just considering the need for such clarification makes it clear that at this time, perhaps such a parade isn't a great idea. We haven't just won a war, we haven't had a big step towards success by any means, and up to 30 million dollars on a parade just doesn't add up. Stephen is right in saying that this money could go to better use, and I second Angelique's idea of supporting veterans through paychecks or hospitals-not a one day show.
I have nothing against the parade and I do think it is a good idea, but I'm not sure if spending 10-30 million dollars is necessary. I feel like this is a little excessive and that money could be used towards other and just as important issues and matters. I'm not really sure how spending this much money would actually benefit anyone; if you want to honor our veterans, there could be better ways do to it like Angelique's idea of giving more welfare to veterans.
Truthfully, a parade is worthless in America. Everyone already knows that America has such an expansive military that having a parade is only flaunting America's "great" military capabilities. With Trump as president, other countries will probably see America as idiotic and arrogant, and this is not something that others should see America as. Wasting money on something with no value should not be done. Instead, this money should be spent on something with more value, such as financial aid or money to other programs beneficial to the citizens of America.
This seems like a flashy way to waste money. I wouldn't be against a billionaire spending $30 Million on a fancy car, but it is inappropriate for a country that is over $20 Trillion in debt to spend so much for a parade. If we have to spend our money on something, we should pick from the long list of more deserving things.
This is simply a frightening proposition, displaying the US as a kind of military regime. The world clearly knows what an enormous military power the US is, there is no real reason why we would need to display it with a $30 million parade. Donald Trump is already a highly criticized president, so pulling a simply arrogant stunt such as this would be highly detrimental on his behalf. Yes, this military display is in fact patriotic, and does bring well-founded awareness towards our military personnel, but, the cost of a parade this grand highly outweighs its national importance. We are the single biggest military power in the world, so what would show it better than to simply let that fact remain, rather than being simply petty about it and show off for the world to see. If this parade does take place, the president won't feel pride, but he will feel embarrassed.
A show of military prowess maybe a good idea. However, it is not worth the tax payers money to parade around and not accomplish tangible things. Like Harrison said we are in massive debt and should look at cutting our expenses.
I think the idea of a military parade to show "American prowess" is, honestly, stupid. The rest of of the world knows that the US is strong: do we really need to shove it down their throats? I have no problem with a celebration to honor veterans, to thank our military for all it does for our country, but it's not necessary to have a parade solely for the purpose of showing off how "great" we are to the world. We've already proven ourselves in World Wars I & II, the Korean War, the Cold War, Iraq and Afganistan. We have military prowess, and parading it down the streets of Washington, D.C. honestly makes me extremely uncomfortable. You know who has military parades? Tyrants. Kim Jong-Un, Vladimir Putin, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler. To me, this proposal seems all too familiar; reminiscent of the pictures we've studied of Germany in World War II, Communist Russia, North Korea. I would hate for the US to be put on the same level as regimes we have worked so hard to combat. Also, it would cost between $10 and $30 MILLION from taxpayer money. Wtf
I personally don't feel like a parade is necessary. I know that Trump wants to be as "patriotic" as possible, but maybe we don't need a parade if we've lived without it for 27 years. Also, that was after a war victory, yet there's no such thing today. It's a waste of money that could definitely be spent elsewhere, such as infrastructure or health care.
This parade seems quite unnecessary, especially given the fact that it will cost between 10-30 million dollars to put on. Trump's tax bill is already taking money away from many businesses and this parade would only further the country into debt. In addition, everyone worldwide is aware that the U.S. is quite powerful, and spends ridiculous amounts on defense, we don't need to tell the country and the world what they already know. Also given the circumstances it seems an awful lot like trump has really been trying to take attention off of other things he has been involved in such as the investigation with Mueller and his chief of staff being an abusive person. Personally I just really think that this is unnecessary, we have gone without military parades for twenty seven years, and i'm sure we can go another hundred without needing another.
Confidence is silence. Insecurities are loud. We have not held a military in many years and there's a reason for that. We do not need to show off our military strength in a parade. While I see the idea behind it, I think the parade is unnecessary and a waste of money. Other countries already know the strength of our military and I do not see the need to display it in this manner.
If the comments section was the Supreme Court, I would be writing the concurring opinion. I actually disagree with many of the comments above because I don't believe the parade makes America seem like an authoritarian or military regime. I also don't believe President Trump is being arrogant, petty, or overly patriotic about the parade. I think the parade is truly a good gesture to those veterans and soldiers who have served for our army and our country; however, it is simply not the right time nor circumstances. However, I believe that economically there are other places that the money and effort required for such a grand event could go into.
I personally don't believe that this march is a good idea. At such a high price, I feel like this money could be better spent. Trump's intentions are to show off his appreciating to the public of the military, however, why does Trump feel the need to flaunt how strong our military is? I don't see a need to brag. I feel like he only wants this march to happen for his image and status. He wants to show everyone how "great" America is. I don't think that this is the most effective way to show his appreciation for the military. He could definitely find a cheaper alternative. Military displays are usually used to mark a victory at the end of a war, so this parade could also carry a bad meaning with it. Other countries may see this just as a Trump trying to be extravagant, while wasting money for no real good reason.
This is a terrible idea to me. What is the benefit? To show how much pride we have in our country by showing off our military? I agree with Alex that this parade is unnecessary. We all already know that America has a strong military. Economically this money would be spent better somewhere else in the government, basically anywhere else in the government. America spent too much on the military anyways. We should be helping the lives of American citizens, rather than spending money one useless parades.
I think having a military parade would be a waste of money and time because there isn’t any point in having one. This extravagant event is definitely not necessary because it seems like Trump’s only motive is to show off and create a reputation for himself. Furthermore, $10-30 million is money that can be used for something else such as helping those in need rather than showing that America is patriotic. While it may seem like a good idea to him now, it won’t be later on because of public backlash against this idea. It takes money to train and provide resources for this event. Other countries might perceive this event as over patriotism because this event, once again, is a waste of time.
This idea is so ridiculous it is quite hilarious. Not to turn this into a literary analysis, but I would like to point out that in the book Catch-22, a SATIRE on the military, Joseph Heller (the author) employs one officer's priority of hosting/winning weekly military parades over the actual success of his men on the battlefield in order to further satirize the military. Therefore this real-life example with Donald Trump, who I am assuming is being 100% serious about this, is alarming. The mere fact that Trump even had this idea, thought it was a good idea, and is NOT joking about it -- about an event used in satire -- is incredulous. As others have mentioned, it absolutely is a sign of authoritarianism (which, for those who don't understand, is bad). Militarism was one of the main causes of WW1, and given our situation with North Korea right now, could easily cause problems.
In my opinion, I don't think that a military parade is necessary. I feel like it's redundant to show off or "flex" our military might with the intention to show other countries our power. Countries already know that U.S. has one of the most powerful militarys in the world so having a parade would just be a waste of time and money. If this is in response to what North Korea has been doing by showing off their advancement of military strength then I still don't think this is the right move.
This military parade is absolutely unnecessary and a complete waste of money. Trump cannot use government money to feed his need for flashiness; he seems to forget that the real world isn't his talk show, where he can freely show off and boost his ego. Furthermore, as others mentioned above, this parade could fan the flames of hostility that are already present between the U.S. and countries such as North Korea.
The reputation of the U.S. Military is respected worldwide, viewed by most as the top military in the world. Therefore, spending 30 million dollars on a parade to show off our power is unnecessary and uneconomical. I believe that other countries will pay little attention to the parade, merely viewing it as a construct of the Trump administration.
I also agree that the military parade is unnecessary. As many have stated before me, we have not won a war and it is extremely expensive. This only seems like a way for Trump to intimidate other foreign powers, especially North Korea. I feel like this will be ineffective since as Jack said, the US military is already known to be extremely powerful. North Korea has already shown to ignore Trump's threats. A military parade won't solve anything. But I also disagree with the decision to have a military parade because of its cost. With Trump cutting taxes, we should be spending less in order to stay out of debt. With less money for the government to work with, we should be avoiding increasing government expenditures.
I think the price alone illustrates how the military parade shouldn’t happen. We’re spending millions of dollars on something that Trump wants to do because he saw France do it? There hasn’t been any recent, large victory that would warrant this kind of celebratory response anhow so the entire idea of the parade seems like a waste of a lot of money. In terms of how other countries would perceive the U.S., I don’t think it’d honestly create that much fervor since people are used to the wave of unique ideas from the new administration.
I do not believe this should be carried out. There are definitely authoritarian and dictator-like vibes coming from these types of actions which I feel are misrepresentative of our country. The cost alone is already outrageous and should instantly be the deciding factor because there are little to no results that come about from these events. The argument could definitely be made that this would be unifying for our country and will help display the power we posses as a whole. However, Trump is a major component to why the nation is so divided anyways so I believe wasting this money from the budget will only cause more tension. Diana is definitely right in saying this event is merely adding to Trump's flashy nature and need to flaunt what he has.
I do not really think that the Military Parade is a good idea. The reason is that this is a lot of money that is going to be spent. Since there isn't a victory on a war, it wouldn't really make sense to throw a parade. 10-30 million dollars is a lot!. I don't really think that other countries will perceive this event. a lot of countries do this so it wouldn't make sense for other countries to perceive this event.
I think having a military parade is not the best idea. For the cost of 10-30 million dollars there are many other useful ways the money can be spent. While a lot of people argue that it is a way to honor our military we already have veterans day. When I think of military parades I just think of a country trying to show how powerful they are. The US is already known to be strong and I find that there is no need to spend millions of dollars on a parade when a national Holliday already shows love for troops.
Like many have stated before, I do not think that the military parade is a good idea. If the idea of it is to show the strength of the American military, it is definitely not necessary, as the U.S.' military is already regarded as one of the top, if not the top, militaries in the world. And just looking at the price tag, it is definitely not justifiable. What, Trump is going to spend millions just to puff his feathers and try to show off to the rest of the world, to convince them that he is the best because he has made the U.S. so strong? It's just a flat out stupid idea. He just wants to be cocky and boast, something that will upset the international community even further and embarrass many people living here.
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