Let's rename parade for DuPage GOP

In response to the letter from Dave Dierson concerning the GOP and the Wheaton parade, I argue that the Republicans have taken over the parade, and made it bloated and boring.

I remember when I was a young boy in Massachusetts, enjoying the July Fourth parade meant the sounds of marching bands, wondrous floats, military drill squads, drum corps and veterans of past wars. For us kids the highlight was, much as it still is, the sirens wailing as the procession of fire engines and police cars passed by. Yes, there were a select few local officials and dignitaries, but the parade was not centered on them. The parade was enjoyable and lasted about an hour tops.

Nowadays, the July Fourth parade has become little more than a continuous line of politicians, occasionally intermixed with a band or float. From our viewing point on Front Street, it is a seemingly endless line of politicians who feel the need to blow their own horns. If the GOP wants to pat itself on the back, that's fine by me. However, henceforth, please rename the July Fourth parade to what it has truly become, The DuPage Republicans Independence Day Rally.

David Scott Thayer

Wheaton