Hendrix's Eccentric Commentary

6/15/2026

This weekend past, there were two birthday celebrations: one, in London on Saturday, June 13th, marked the King’s Birthday, but was really a celebration of British nationhood; the other, in Washington D.C., on Sunday, June 14th, purported to celebrate Flag Day and the nation’s approaching 250th anniversary, but was really Donald Trump’s personal birthday bash.

The celebration in London consisted of the King’s Birthday Parade (the Trooping of the Color) which was a celebration of the connection between the British armed services and their connection to the monarch, who symbolizes their nation.

The celebration in Washington was a series of Ultimate Fighting Championship cage matches on the White House lawn which involved guys beating the crap out of one another, with, apparently, some troops, who met hight/weight standards. shipped in to make it look good.

One of these ceremonies was solemn and moving and one was crass and tacky. The ceremony is London involved the monarch inspecting his troops and carefully looking them in the eye as he passed along the ranks. The ceremony in Washington had a strong resemblance to the emperor watching the gladiators fight it out in the Coliseum. Only one of these occasions featured corporate sponsorships and product placements — no extra points for guessing which one.

The contrast was jarring and I will leave it to the reader to decide which more appropriately commemorates important moments in the life of a nation.