Column by Buck Ryan
“Look, Dad, there’s Uncle Sam — dressed as a drag queen.â€
And so went the live reporting from Lexington’s Fourth of July parade from my little Wolf Blitzer in “The Situation Room†high above Main Street in a glass-enclosed walkway.
At one point a young woman on a gurney looking mostly dead would pass underneath us, somewhere between soldiers in uniform, Ronald McDonald in a clown’s car, a beauty pageant winner and a 10-foot-tall bloody beast.
Was it just me, or did any other patriotic Americans leave the parade wondering whether they had just seen a Fellini film?
My mind flashed to the foreword of “A Call to Heroism: Renewing America’s Vision of Greatness,†which begins: “The Greeks tell us that people are known by the heroes they crown.†Then I wondered, what did that parade say about the people of Lexington?
A Fourth of July parade is a great time to honor heroes, inspire young people and maybe even teach them a little town history. After all, in 1775 settlers inspired by the Battle at Lexington Green and the shot heard ‘round the world named this community in a Revolutionary War fervor.
My dear old Dad who made it to 92 routinely warned me, “Don’t get old.†I can only imagine what Uncle Sam must be feeling like at 233 years old.
The heroism book’s author, Peter H. Gibbon, could see our parade coming: “Irreverence, skepticism, and mockery permeated the culture to such a degree that it is difficult for young people to have heroes,†he noted back in 1992. With deference to Thomas Paine, I think these are the times that try men’s souls and we may just be in another American crisis, at least in civic education and inspiration.
What made the parade especially revealing was seeing it on break from a friend’s holiday party, which featured the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence. To stand and listen to the complete declaration takes herculean strength and concentration in a world where a tweet on Twitter can run up to only 140 characters.
The bold assertions, the sparkling vocabulary, the litany of grievances — the words soar on eagles’ wings, though I’m sure the king thought our founding fathers were cuckoo birds for picking the fight.
When I heard, “We hold these truths to be self-evident,†I was reminded that Thomas Jefferson’s earlier draft, the one edited by Ben Franklin, read, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.â€
Well, there’s nothing sacred about a Fourth of July parade; I’m all for having fun. But what’s undeniable is that it’s time for the people of Lexington to consider what message next year’s parade might send our young people.
Imagine an opening float entitled “From Lexington 1775 to Lexington 2010†with a faux shootout between redcoats and patriots and possibly a banner quotation from Paine: “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.â€
If we again have October-like weather, perhaps one of our Halloween stores can end the parade with a headless Robespierre chasing a revolting-looking Jefferson down the street shouting, “Long live the republic!â€
Buck Ryan is the director of the Citizen Kentucky Project of UK’s Scripps Howard First Amendment Center. E-mail buck.ryan@uky.edu.
I agree with your assessment.
I enjoyed a few of the floats and the March Madness Band, but most of these parades end up being one long commercial. I couldn’t last out the Holiday Parade for the same reason last year. That parade should have been about the spirit of the season. Instead, we got more crass commercialism. I get enough of that in the Herald Leader, on tv and radio. I don’t need it in a parade!
And, yes, there is real opportunity in the 4th of July Parade to recreate the spirit of ’76, re-enact some history and remind people what the day is really about.
I know we can do better.
Hi Buck,
I was perusing the internet and came across this. I’m Charlie Bell with Footnote.com. We are an original historical document site with the a wonderful assortment of Revolutionary War documents. We also have the largest Civil and WWII collections on the internet. I thought I would pass that on and let you know that quite a few of the collections that we have are free. It sounds like history is important there. I hope you take a look at this!
Thanks!
“Well, there’s nothing sacred about a Fourth of July parade; I’m all for having fun.”
I don’t think you are. It’s a parade not a triumph. It’s not there to crown heroes or instill civic virtue. It’s there for fun. It’s a lark, not a somber remembrance.
I find it absolutely absurd that you decry irreverence and skepticism (where was the skepticism in the parade? Was there a giant bust of James Randi?) and yet speak with reverence about Jefferson and Paine. Jefferson and Paine were skeptics, rationalists, anti-religious establishment, anti-monarchical culture. They were radicals.
I think the only reason Uncle Sam is over 200 years old is that people won’t let him die. America has changed, it has to change. We can’t be forever ruled by the ideas of a handful of pre-industrial revolution people. we’re not living in a british controlled world anymore. We’re not a handful of colonies anymore. We’re not a nation of farmers and corner stores anymore. We’re not a nation of slavery anymore. We’re not a world of superstition anymore.
We should be creating our own heroes and not worshiping at the bones of our forefathers.