A Parade for Our Times
Today is Flag Day. The Second Continental Congress approved the Stars and Stripes as our nation's flag on June 14, 1777. The United States Army had its start two years earlier, on June 14, 1775. New York City lays claim to the oldest Flag Day Parade in America. The local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution — a group of men who are direct descendants of Revolutionary War veterans — has organized this proud march through downtown Manhattan for hundreds of years.
Jay Akasie, one of our frequent contributors, sent us a wire yesterday saying that, a decade ago, when he was writing for Grant's Interest Rate Observer, one of his fondest memories "was how the entire staff would leave the office at 30 Wall Street for a few minutes to watch this simple parade." Wall Street, he told us, was unencumbered by barricades and security checkpoints back then, and he was feeling rather wistful, given how Wall Street, now full of barriers, has changed. He suggested we'll be hard pressed to find the parade this year, as he was informed by the city that no parade permit was issued this year.
Not that the city lacks for parades. In May, there were marches honoring Haiti and Turkish-American relations. There was also a parade — a very laid-back, mellow one at that — called the Million Marijuana March. The first Sunday of this month was when a sizeable stretch of Madison Avenue shut down for the Philippine Independence Day Parade. That same Sunday, Queens residents marched in the Bangladesh Parade.
On June 9, Fifth Avenue from 59th Street down to Washington Square Park was devoted to the Hare Krishna Parade. On Sunday, June 10, Puerto Ricans from around the world converged on Manhattan for the Puerto Rican Day Parade. On June 23, 10 full blocks of Seventh Avenue will be closed for the street festival of — hold onto your hats for this one — the New York City Young Republican Club.
On July 22 is the Bronx's Dominican Day Parade. That same day in Queens, the Colombians march in their parade. On July 15, the Captive Nations March shuts down Fifth Avenue, ironically holding innocent motorists and pedestrians of this nation captive. A nice stretch of the Upper East Side will fall to the Bastille Day street festival of the French Institute. When we hit August, be ready for the Congress for Racial Equality festival that shuts down the very same 10 blocks in Midtown that the Young Republican festival does in June.
There are street festivals and parades honoring Our Lady of Pompeii, Santa Rosalia, and various luminaries of the Greek, Russian, and Serbian Orthodox Churches. No doubt about it: New York City is a diverse, exciting place in which to live — and to watch parades. Chances are you have a parade lined up — and the City of New York is ready to spend taxpayer's money to block traffic and pay policemen fat overtime checks to patrol your group's event. And the Department of Sanitation will be there to clean up the aftermath.
All the more reason today to take a break from the array of Old World parades and street fairs and join with the Sons of the American Revolution — wherever they're marching, if they're marching — to come together and honor not only our Army but the standard of stars and stripes that was established as our official flag 230 years ago. Or to revive the old tradition in time for next year's Flag Day.
