The recent opinions on the Warren 4th parade are wonderful but incomplete. I want to speak to the issue of the politics in the parade. Several commenters said they hadn’t gone because it was too politicized. I have two arguments with this:
- The parade has always been political. When I was on staff, in 2000, (26 years ago) we had this same argument. The discord was gay marriage. We chose “If Stars Can Marry Stripes…” as the theme. There was a huge uproar in The Valley. The Valley Reporter reported on this and the Warren Select Board censored us. The parade has always been political. Fifty-percent of the parade is about politics. Bernie is a fixture at the parade.
- I find this refreshing and this is why the Warren 4th is so popular. It’s neither polite nor generic. It reminds us that politics is a part of our days, whether we like it or not. The 4th parade is the day that, publicly, you get to say what you want, and it might be political, but you won’t be punished. We need politics. Politics is reality. We need to get along, not be polite about it, nor be patriotic. The Warren 4th is punk. It’s about love and humor.
Robin Lehman, Warren
