Phorm Energy Screamin’ Freedom
June 19, 2025 at 01:08AM“I’m here for that and for President Trump’s birthday as well,” an attendee told Linda Kinstler at the US Army Birthday Celebration, held last weekend in Washington, DC. “We aren’t going to be here in 250 years, for the 500th.” Kinstler’s dispatch recognizes the moment as a palimpsest: the space around the National Mall layered with numerous portrayals of “patriotism” as well as the violent January 6 attack on the US Capitol, the day overlapping with other military forces deployed to Los Angeles and Trump’s satisfaction on his own birthday. It’s true, we aren’t going to be here in another 250 years. Will American democracy? By Kinstler’s final lines, and given all the recent history that underlies them, it’s hard to say.
The festival, held on the National Mall in honor of the US Army’s 250th anniversary, had the feel of an arms expo combined with a military recruitment fair. A howitzer stood near the entrance, manned by maroon berets from the army’s airborne force. At the camouflaged tent of the 75th Ranger Regiment—the storied Army Rangers—people lined up to hoist a Carl-Gustaf M4 multi-role weapon system over their shoulder and to try on combat vests and helmets. Kids in Make America Great Again hats clambered inside assault helicopters; a circle formed around two automated Boston Dynamics robot dogs that were trotting in place. Spectators climbed on top of Stryker combat vehicles or took turns holding guns equipped with Smartshooter systems that are designed to “significantly enhance lethality and user survivability.”
In the days before the parade, national guardsmen and marines outfitted in uniforms similar to the ones on display in D.C. had been deployed by the president against civilian protesters in Los Angeles. The marines briefly detained one person—a veteran who had become a US citizen as a result of his military service. In the days following the January 6 riot in Washington in 2021, military vehicles guarded the perimeter around the vandalized Capitol building. According to NPR, about one in five defendants in January 6 legal cases was a military veteran. But unlike that day there was no audible vitriol in the crowd, no anger or violence.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/06/18/army-birthday-celebration-trump-birthday/
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