Adams/Friendship, WI
7/4/2019

I’m walking through the crowd gathered for today’s parade to celebrate the independence from what was considered to be an oppressive government. As I survey the people dressed in their best patriotic shirts and hats, I can’t help but feel like I’m walking through an alternate reality. In this reality everyone has swallowed the blue pill, living in an unconscious denial of the state of their world.

The Trump presidency has brought into the open white nationalism, a false sense of patriotism, with racists crawling out from under rocks we didn’t know even existed. They are present today at this parade, dressed in red, white and blue, a few wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, others sporting t-shits that say, “Don’t Tread On Me.” As the parade finally starts, the first float is a replica of a World War II troop carrier. Riding the float are veterans from the various branches of the armed services. And like a wave at a sporting event, the spectators who line the streets stand and remove their hats as the vets pass by. As I walk further along, I overhear a boy explaining the reverence to another child, saying, “they are the reason for our freedom.” What he doesn’t realize is that freedom was only a by-product of their service.

Adams County, in which the towns of Adams and Friendship are located, was once a Blue county. It supported Obama in 2012. However, as the new red wave moved across liberal, democratic strongholds, Adams went for Trump, the people hoping for something new. And in 2019 it continued to vote republican, selecting former Governor Scott Walker by a wide margin. And judging by the tropes in the parade and the blind patriotism of the crowd, the people here are continuing down the rabbit hole, seemingly unaware of where it is leading them.