I love Fourth of July. I love all the trappings of it. I love summer. I love watermelon and potato salad. Bug spray. Tan lines. The whole vibe.
And I love fireworks, pretty unapologetically. I think they’re romantic.
Fireworks are a big deal in my neighborhood, which is on the west side of Cleveland. People really go nuts with fireworks. It’s been that way for a long time and sometimes it is a little over the top.
There’s always a lot of complaining about it online. And I get it. Some people have PTSD, etc. They’re terrible for air quality, something I’m usually very scold-y and annoying about.
When I was growing up we would go to the municipal fireworks show and that was it. My parents didn’t buy fireworks. But for the last few years, we’ve gotten together with some neighbors and made some explosions. Nothing too serious. This year we spent $60 at Target. Even prior to that, I used to sometimes go and attend some of the wilder amateur neighborhood fireworks shows.
Anyway, despite all the drawbacks that are discussed online at such length and with such furor, it’s fun and memorable. The kids enjoy it. I enjoy it. It’s a public spectacle.
And people getting together to gaze in awe at something low stakes and fun, IDK I would say actually sort of important to the more philosophical aspects of the whole patriotic holiday.
The stuff I like about Fourth of July, it’s more fundamentally American, and more unifying, than what is being offered to us now by official political figures and all the professional conflict entrepreneurs that are making everyone so, imo, insane.
Maybe a few years ago I would have felt differently, but I think, and notice, especially online, we can be a little bit too quick to write off that kind of thing on the old cost-benefit analysis ledger. And it’s really not like anyone’s coming in to Cleveland and cracking down on fireworks. They’re too popular. It’s an accepted part of neighborhood life.
People, especially not-rich people, need fun and enjoyment in their lives. And fireworks, they’re a good excuse to invite the neighbors over and fire up the grill, at minimum. They’re accessible to people, across age, income, cultural spectrums. We don’t have a lot of things like that anymore.
I’m sure there are a lot of bad burns and fires. True negative aspects, I understand that. But we can’t weigh that fairly without acknowledging they give people a little bit of joy. That should count for something.
Also, the element of risk is part of the fun. There’s often an element of risk involved in fun, or some kind of public cost. Sometimes it’s worth it. Maybe reasonable people can debate this particular thing and alternatives.
My political team, and maybe it’s not just a political thing but a human nature thing, can get going online and be a little bit scoldy and self righteous. And people get on their soapboxes about hating fireworks and make some okay points. But I think the scold-y fun police routine gets a little tiring.
We have big problems and some degree of sort of awareness raising is of course necessary. Especially with climate change. We’re talking about things like meat and cars (trucks) being big factors, which unfortunately, couldn’t be more sacred to a lot of people.
Anyway, it doesn’t mean any of that is off limits. On the other hand, I think it’s important to also be weighing: What are the things that keep people going and give their lives meaning? What are the kinds of things they aspire to, what are their more modest and achievable dreams? Like taking their family to Disneyworld, or whatever it is.
If we’re going to ask people to work hard all year, pay taxes, take care of their families, they need those allowances. They need fun and events. They need the little bit of community that sort of goes with fireworks displays, both big and small, even though it’s so messy and painful sometimes.
It doesn’t mean we can’t change and there aren’t better possibilities potentially. I just think we ought to be careful about minimizing that kind of thing.
When it comes to things like safety and emissions, what we’re always doing is negotiating tradeoffs. We really can’t do that fairly without giving proper weight to certain intangibles. And that’s what makes it so difficult and controversial. I still think it’s worth debating and everything, but we won’t ever get to the right solution if we are weighing them fairly.
Wouldn’t it be better if every city and town had a fireworks show so good that no one felt the need for all the hazards, waste, noise, and pollution associated with thousands of mini-shows in backyards? My feelings about fireworks mirror those I have about cars and guns. Banning any of them altogether would be neither feasible nor desirable, but a healthier society would have fewer incentives for individuals and families to feel they are necessary.