Fireworks, even the safe and sane kind, are illegal here in Long Beach. But in the days leading up to the Fourth, and today on the Fourth, the neighborhood where I live sounds considerably like a shock and awe campaign. Police and fire department officials provide stern warnings in the press for violators but last year I remember seeing a squad car patrolling the neighborhood as illegal fireworks were blasting just above their car. There are a number of ways to look at this situation, there's the scofflaw opinion, obviously, that this is illegal activity and the participants are nothing but criminals. But I like to think that people BELIEVE in the hard-won freedoms of this country and that fireworks, especially the decidedly unsafe and insane fireworks, are a vivid and dramatic demonstration of being free. To me, their use is a reminder that power is derived from the people.
Having said that, I don't believe in the careless destruction of personal or public property or in the maiming of innocents as a result of these inherently dangerous activities. With freedom comes responsibility. But to see so many people appreciating these impromptu displays and others willing to chance arrest by taking part in these illegal proceedings is not a terribly far cry from activities that took place in the years preceding 1776. And knowing that there are Americans today with that spirit of '76 brings me hope that we are a nation not necessarily driven by sheep-like attachment to electronic gadgets or the mesmerism of our glowing televisions. I want to believe, and maybe this is wishful thinking, that we care about America, that the idea of America is something true and real and maybe even dangerous.
Tim Bulone is an ardent observer of life on the swirling blue marble. He creates fine art and canvas prints which he likes to sell from time to time at http://www.MyFamilyArt.com He is an early morning pedestrian in Belmont Shore, where he resides with his wife and a variety of terrified and cowering-under-the-bed-because-of-fireworks pets.