Everyone loves a parade

Russian marines march along the Red Square during a parade in Moscow Monday, May 9, 2005. World leaders whose countries fought each other in World War II paid tribute to the fallen soldiers and millions of civilian dead, joining Russian President Vladimir Putin on Red Square for a lavish military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) ORG XMIT: XIAS107

FILE - In this April 15, 2017, file photo, a submarine missile is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea is preparing to stage a major event to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its military on Feb. 8, 2018 - just one day before the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File) SEL104

Birds fly across Pennsylvania Avenue NW with the Capitol in the background in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. Pennsylvania Avenue, sometimes called â\u0080\u009A\u0080\u009CAmericaâ\u0080\u009A\u0080\u0099s Main Street,â\u0080\u009A\u0080\u009D is being listed among the nationâ\u0080\u009A\u0080\u0099s endangered landscapes because of neglect and deferred maintenance by the National Park Service. The nonprofit Cultural Landscape Foundation told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the grand avenue connecting the Capitol and White House is slowly falling into disrepair. Water fountains are left rarely functioning, benches are broken and some trees have been removed. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ORG XMIT: DCJM202

Russian President Vladimir Putin waits for guests during welcome ceremony at Moscow's Kremlin, Monday, May 9, 2005. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Ludmila entered Red Square just before the start of a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) ORG XMIT: VED110

In this image made from video by North Korea's KRT, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, attends a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. North Korea held a massive military parade highlighted by intercontinental ballistic missiles in its capital on Thursday, just one day before South Korea hosts the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. (KRT via AP Video) TKMY811

President Donald Trump turns to talk to the gathered media during a Christmas Eve video teleconference with members of the mIlitary at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) FLCK113

Published February 8 2018

Updated February 8 2018

President Donald Trump�s brainstorm to stage a flashy military parade has been met with considerable skepticism. Trump reportedly was inspired by France�s Bastille Day celebration, where he watched a military parade last year as the guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. But France is hardly a military power, and the president apparently wants a gaudy show of America�s firepower. That�s more in line with the strongman regimes in North Korea and Russia, and it hardly reflects this nation�s values. As the former Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden tweeted Thursday, "We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation." President Theodore Roosevelt�s description of his approach to foreign policy was to "speak softly, and carry a big stick." He didn�t say show it off.