There is one front and one battle where everyone in the United States—every man, woman, and child—is in action and will be privileged to remain in action throughout this war. That front is right here at home, in our daily lives and in our daily tasks. Here at home everyone will have the privilege of making whatever self-denial is necessary, not only to supply our fighting men, but to keep the economic structure of our country fortified and secure during the war and after the war.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio broadcast to the nation, April 28, 1942


Thursday, April 28, 2011

About Parades


Louise


ABOUT PARADES

If there is such a thing
as too many parades, then,
I think we’ve reached that point.

Americans love a parade.
Nowadays they have one
to celebrate almost anything.

To encourage citizens.
To recruit volunteers.

To collect more scrap.
To sell more bonds.

To honor a flag.
To honor a war hero.

People persist in marching,
while bands continue to blare.

They
keep
us
from
falling

apart.























© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. All photos courtesy Library of Congress: children with flags, civil defense workers, tank, servicemen, spectators.

2 comments:

Ruth said...

The last lines are very true - that's what parades do!

Diane Mayr said...

I'm hoping that they provided the spectators with a reason for hope. I know there were a lot of places that had captured submarines and other spoils of war paraded through the streets.