On January 20th, 2021 America inaugurated a new President of the United States.
Unfortunately, with the Country still caught in the grips of a virus that has left 99.91% of Americans still alive, and one protest at the Nation’s Capitol which paled in comparison to a Summer of Democrat protests in 140 cities in 20 states for three months that resulted in trillions of dollars in damages, the Government decided that Inauguration Day Parades – traditionally, a small one for the outgoing President and a much larger one for the new President – would not be performed.
And so, I present to you your Video Lesson for Today: Parades!
Parades happen for a variety of reasons: Celebration, adoration, congratulations, or commemoration. They usually involve a person (and occasionally a concept, like Freedom or Liberty) and can be happy, uplifting, unifying, motivational, somber, or downright depressing.
With that in mind, enjoy your Video Lesson of the Day!
Lesson 1: The Parade as Celebration & Congratulation
(2 minutes):
In this lesson you’ll see a compilation of how some people living in a Constitutional Republic predicated on personal freedoms and individual responsibility show their respect, admiration, and thanks to President Trump for keeping the promises he made to the Country, his Oath as President, and his constituents as President of the United States.
Lesson 2: The Parade as a Weapon
(3 minutes):
In this lesson, taken from the movie “1984″, you’ll see how an announcer from a centrally-run, dictatorial State’s “Ministry of Truth” uses an attack by a perpetual enemy to organize the State’s masses, while the movie’s Protagonist (“Citizen 6079, Smith, W.”) accidentally discovers the secret to the State’s power.
Narrator: “Until now, the war has been conducted with Honor and Bravery, with the ideals of Truth and Justice, in the best traditions of Mankind, until this moment. Brothers and Sisters, the endless catalog of beastial atrocities which will inevitably ensue from this appalling act must, can, and will be terminated. The forces of darkness, and the treasonable maggots who collaborated with them must, can, and will be wiped from the face of the Earth. We must crush them, we must smash them, we must stamp them out!”
Lesson 3:The Parade as Hero Worship
(7 minutes):
In this lesson you’ll see how a centrally-run, Communist State’s consistent and relentless use of the media, arts, literature, communication and censorship, combined with strict enforcement, results in a society based on Hero Worship and a Cult of Personality. The example here is a clip from the 1966 Worker’s Parade in Communist China celebrating their Leader Mao Tse-tung’s Cultural Revolution. China has a parade every year on October 1st to mark their Anniversary.
Narrator, reading various parade banners:
“Mao Tse-tung Thought is our very soul, and our source of life!”
“We will defeat whoever dares to oppose the great Mao Tse-tung Thought!”
“Turn our great country into a big school for the study of Mao Tse-tung Thought!”
“We will hold high the great red banner of Mao Tse-tung Thought, and carry the great Proletarian Cultural Revolution through to the end!”
“May the great red banner of Mao Tse-tung Thought fly all over the world!”
Lesson 4: The Parade as Individual Expression
(1 minutes):
In this lesson – Apple Computer’s 1984 ad titled “1984″ – you’ll see how one individual decides to take a stand against a leader who has created a centrally-run, dystopian society where all inequalities, inconsistencies, incorrect thoughts, and “parasites” have been eliminated so that every individual is exactly the same as everyone else in every way.
(Original script, not included in the final commercial)
“My friends, each of you is a single cell in the great body of the State. And today, that great body has purged itself of parasites. We have triumphed over the unprincipled dissemination of facts. The thugs and wreckers have been cast out. And the poisonous weeds of disinformation have been consigned to the dustbin of history. Let each and every cell rejoice!”
Leader on Telescreen:
“For today we celebrate the first, glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directive! We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology. Where each worker may bloom secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!”
That’s our video lesson for today. We hope you’ve learned important lessons on how parades can be used by governments and societies for better or worse.
Thanks for Reading!
