I don’t know how common this sentiment is but I see a major military parade on US soil as an embarrassment. No uninvited foreign troops have set foot in the contiguous US since the Mexican American War ended in 1848. There hasn’t been a military battle in the contiguous US since Wounded Knee in 1890, inasmuch as Wounded Knee was a battle. Part of the privileges that Americans enjoy is that that level of conflict happens elsewhere. Large displays of military power at home deminish us.

Velvet feels roughly the same to me as being in a dark room when it’s 110° with no air movement.