The parade was a good thing

THE PARADE WAS A GOOD THING. Here’s the first thing to say about Saturday’s military parade in Washington, D.C., honoring the Army’s 250th birthday: It was a good thing to do. It wasn’t a vanity production for President Donald Trump’s birthday. It wasn’t an authoritarian flex. It wasn’t a threat to the American people.

It was, instead, a dignified celebration of one of the great institutions of American life as it, and the United States, marks its 250th year of existence. Trump was right to highlight the Army’s birthday as the beginning of “America250” events. It was also a good parade.

The route ran along Constitution Ave. from the Lincoln Memorial to 15th Street, south of the White House. People experienced it in different ways, depending on their location.

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