The parade saluting the U.S. Army's 250th birthday went ahead and the rain pretty much held off. And that was good.
The idea of a parade for such a big birthday was never a bad one. The manner in which President Trump's own birthday celebration became entwined in the grand march was certainly a complication, but it didn't ultimately mean much.
The president looked a little glum betimes on his 79th birthday. Perhaps the parade was a bit too laden with historical marching units at the expense of modern military muscle. Well, there's always next year.
An interesting aspect of the parade was the inclusion of marching units representing the army going right back to its foundation in 1775.
So we had marchers dressed in the uniforms of that time. There were also marchers representing the army during America's Civil War and participants, military hardware and aircraft, saluting those who served in World Wars I and II and subsequent conflicts.
Overall the parade, for those who considered it, was a reminder that America's military has always been comprised of native born and newly arrived immigrants.
The Irish-born and their Irish American relatives have served in all conflicts and during every era of the army's storied history.
That is in part why it is particularly jarring to see the latest piece of nonsense from the Department of Homeland Security, an illustration depicting Uncle Sam hammering a poster with the words "Help Your Country and Yourself....Reports All Foreign Invaders."
The poster urges people to report such "invaders" to ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
During his presidential campaign Donald Trump characterized all illegal and undocumented people in the country as "criminal aliens."
Included in this category are the undocumented Irish, people living in our society who, of course, are of particular interest and importance to this newspaper.
It's unclear whether or not the undocumented Irish have been awarded a dubious promotion to the category of "Foreign Invaders." But it seems likely.
The hijacking of Uncle Sam, an iconic figure who was used to rally Americans in the face of truly real and potential foreign invaders, most especially during the two world wars, is a sad turn of events.
The depiction of men, women and children who are here in search of.better life as essentially an invading army is appalling.
And there is another worrying aspect to this. The idea of an "invasion" could be used by the government to more fully use the military in its crackdown on the undocumented immigrant population. And that is a slippery slope if ever there was one because such a move would inevitably affect, in multiple ways. U.S. citizens.
We have touched on this before, but all this could have been avoided if Congress had seized the moment to pass comprehensive immigration reform at some point in this century.
The last carpe diem moment was in 2013 with the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" reform bill in the Senate. The bill was ultimately allowed to die in the House by then Republican Speaker John Boehner who came under pressure from nativists in the Tea Party.
It can be assumed that any reform at that time would have included stronger security at the nation's borders. Right now, then, comprehensive reform is but a dream.
Instead, in 2025, we have a growing nightmare for millions of people in the Land of the Free Home of the Brave.
