Coloradans For Peace strongly condemns private and government plans to hold a military parade along the main public thoroughfare of Colorado Springs on August 29. Billed as an event to show appreciation for local soldiers, in reality the parade fosters a harmful jingoist message.
In a month which has seen the highest US-Afghanistan casualties since the war began, now is not the time to celebrate the redeployment of US troops. Although President Obama has increased the number of soldiers committed to the conflict, he was elected under the auspices of ending America’s ongoing wars. If the U.S. use of force has been judged misguided, is this the time to glamorize militarism?
The parade is organized as a RED, WHITE AND BRAVE WELCOME HOME, but its chief function is to shore up local support for war and enhance the recruitment of new teens. Isn’t that too high a price to pay for attempting to show active-duty soldiers our appreciation?
Military families want to show support for their troops, without showing support for the warmongering which has put them in harm’s way. It is CFP’s view that this Saturday’s parade does not permit its audience to project that distinction.
CFP recognizes there is a place for Veterans Day parades, as well as homecoming celebrations held on military grounds. There is no place however for a stridently pro-war march up the length of our downtown, to promote and glorify war.
UPDATE 8/29: From Not My Tribe:
“Well, that wasn’t so hard. Our message was warmly received by soldiers who shook our hand in the staging area, and afterward we were thanked by others for what we are trying to do. Antagonism came from the crowd, but not as fiercely as we’d braced ourselves for. Eight years of horror has taken the edge off the “these colors don’t run” mentality. Hence the military imperative for parades like these. Our antiwar presence was all the more important to show the soldiers that some at home are fighting to rescue them. The rest of the attendees were giving them a “welcome home” as they did in 2004, and will keep doing only to redeploy them. The soldiers need to see more and more antiwar support, determined to stop these wars.”