For the past several nights I have been forced to listen to the reeling, nerve racking noise of fireworks on the streets to the west and to the south of my house. The night of July 4th always fills me with angst and sets my nerves on edge. It is too hot to close the windows, but even if I could, it would do little to muffle the obtrusive screeches and pops and bangs of the explosives. I have a friend who detests fireworks as much as I do, for they return him in his mind to the bloody battlefields of Vietnam and another revolution in which he fought. The mother in me wants to gather up all of the dogs and cats and wildlife into my arms to shield their sensitive ears and to protect them from the insane and disturbing behavior of my human counterparts. In my experience, the fourth of July is always the worst day of the year.
We were required from our earliest school days to stand up each morning, place our hand over our heart, and recite the pledge of allegiance. Patriotism to the country we were born in is considered to be our moral duty and we are not to question this. Recent events over racism in our country is revealing the truth and exposing the lies that have been told to us. Showing our support for our country is a smokescreen for the belief that our country is right and all others are potential enemies. It creates “us” versus “them” when in truth, we are one world. War has been romanticised in our government, in movies, and even in the games that our children play. War and fighting are considered to be acts of heroism and duty for one’s country. But, war is ugly. Battle is bloody. Fighting and hatred are juvenile behaviors that should have been discarded along with pacifiers and diapers. War should not justify killing and the senseless taking of lives.
The creation of fireworks, the sale and subsequent igniting of them, is as pointless as the battles they represent. We have come to equate the support of life and of ideals, with fighting. Can you recall a 4th of July when there were not also numerous sirens throughout the evening? Invariably, someone is always injured, but the casualties are dismissed due to the celebratory nature of the “holiday”. When you play with fire, you risk being burned, quite literally. It is possible to celebrate our freedom and indeed it is worth celebrating; however, freedom is a god-given right and should not be something for which we have had to do battle. We can set aside this notion of war and of winners and losers. When we engage in violent acts, we are all losers. When we allow violence to overshadow us, we lose the connection to our heart and crawl into bed with the enemy.
