Editor's Note: This letter was originally published in the November 15, 2011 issue of This Land.
Senator James Inhofe
205 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-3603
Dear Senator Inhofe,
This Land Press is honored to take on a long-standing Tulsa tradition by sponsoring the annual downtown Holiday Parade of Lights on December 10th. After little more than eighteen months, This Land Press now operates one of Oklahoma’s largest online media communities and it’s our turn to follow earlier sponsors in supporting a decades-long Oklahoma tradition.
Senator, This Land invites you to rejoin the parade on this special evening. It’s important to our community.
None of us could have anticipated last year’s media frenzy. Everyone from Fox News to The New York Times to Conan O’Brien to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show had something to say. We may not always share the same opinion in Oklahoma, but we don’t need outside help. It’s not their parade. It’s ours.
A few years ago, someone decided to broaden the scope of the parade by changing the name to the “Holiday Parade.” We can’t speak for that person, but it’s clear the intention was to be inclusive. That makes sense. Senator, a parade is a unique tradition in American culture. It brings together a community in ways that are different than church services and faith-based activities, but it is every bit as meaningful.
When I was a kid, my dad would take my siblings and me to the parade each year. Our mom would usually stay home and wrap gifts, bake miniature fruitcakes, or set up our old ceramic Nativity scene and cotton-ball Santa.