The Pentagon has approved a military parade demanded by President Donald Trump, similar to the ones ordered by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during his reign of terror as Führer of Germany.

Conservative estimates place the cost of this event to be over $30 million Some estimates have the cost exceeding $50 million.

This begs the question do we need a military parade? Truly, what will this parade serve to do aside from stroke a few egos? The world already knows the strength of the U.S. military – the most dominate arsenal of manpower and weapons on this earth.

I, for one, love our troops for their service and, at times, sacrifice. A parade will not make me, or most others, change this view. Nor, do I think it will sway the opinions of those who do not share this sentiment of appreciation for their continued courage.

I think, instead, those wise among us look at what could be accomplished with $30-50 million. I refer to actions that would be meaningful and have definitive, measurable benefits.

Recently the Trump administration passed a budget that will dramatically and permanently decrease taxes for the upper 1%, will provide only a small, temporary benefit to the middle class, and will hurt the poor. They are proposing to pay for the tax breaks for the rich with cuts to Social Security and Medicare – two programs that we as working citizens have paid into; two programs that the retired and disabled rely heavily on.

Wouldn’t using the $30-50 million be better spent on ensuring that Social Security and Medicare remain intact?

Meals-on-Wheels for senior citizen and after school programs that provide meal to children of poverty-stricken families are two programs that the Trump administration and GOP are also cutting funding for.

Wouldn’t using the $30-50 million to keep senior citizens out of nursing homes and keep our nation’s children from going hungry be a better use of those funds?

In the wake of recent hurricane disaster, much of Puerto Rico is still without electricity. Don’t forget that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory.

Wouldn’t spending $30-5o million on restoring our territory’s power be more beneficial then a military parade?

Approximately 39,000 veterans are homeless today. These are men and women who served our country proudly and have now fallen on hard times. Many suffer from untreated mental illness.

Rather than spend $30-50 million on having soldier’s march for the pleasure of the president, wouldn’t that money be better spent getting our homeless veterans off the streets and getting them the support and care they need?

These are just a few examples of how $30-50 million can be used in more meaningful ways than a military parade. There are many other useful ways the money could be used – public broadcasting, National Endowment for the Arts, Habitat for Humanity, universal healthcare, battling global warming, better funding public schools – to name just a few.

As I have said, I am proud of our military. I love my country. But do we need military peacocking when there are so many better ways that exorbitant amount of money could be used for? I, for one, think not.

Peace. Love. Trust.