Whenever there is a parade, a cause is being celebrated. The paradester—the person marching or partaking in it—might be a shirtless, over-the-top-costumed, July 4th paradester perched upon an itty-bitty Lilliputian scooter.
Mardi Gras parades frequently display debauchery, notorious misbehavior from which the participants frequently awake the next morning, incredulously inquiring, “I did WHAT?” A string of plastic beads is a mute reminder of the previous evening’s events.
Parades are not always events of joyful celebration. While parades can honor, they can also powerfully protest, or rally to a cause. Diseases. Politics. Belief systems. Being part of a parade joins us to something bigger than us—a bigger purpose.
Parades remind us we are ever on a journey. Despite the sometimes monotonous cares and numbing routines of daily life, we nonetheless are never static. We are always on our way somewhere, celebrating something, whether admirable and honorable, or not. As long as we’re alive, we’re in a parade.
Yes, we’re always in a parade of some kind. We’re going somewhere. Moms. Dads. Kids. Leaders. Followers. Through our chosen beliefs and behavior, we’re all subscribing to something, some agenda, some idea, some principle, though we may not always recognize it.
Our presence in that parade, whichever parade it is, suggests a kind of endorsement, as we say “yes” to something far bigger than ourselves.