On Fireworks...?

The Facts:

The Question:

Can we please talk about fireworks for a minute? I would like to know who is responsible for this incredibly poor decision making. Let's review the facts. Fireworks are among the leading causes of wildfires in California. I just read a BBC News Article that describes a couple that decided it was a great idea to reveal the gender of their child with an explosion. The smoke bomb caused a fire that killed a brave firefighter and caused injuries to many others. Properties damaged. Beautiful landscapes burned. All in the name of what? Wanting to see like two seconds of fire. What a way to bring a child into the world. Boom.

I know a little bit about destruction. I have burnt my life to the ground so many times because of my own poor choices. I have hurt people. I have learned from these experiences and I never want do these things again. So why do we, as Americans, think we are entitled to set off fireworks just for our own temporary pleasure? Soldiers fought hard on foreign lands for your freedom. They braved the worst kind of experiences. Gunshots, explosions, and fires everywhere. They have watched their best friends die right in front of them. They live in terror of not surviving another day or losing their limbs and body functionality in the name of a cause they cannot even pin down. And what do we do when they finally make it home? We celebrate them by recreating the exact same circumstances that they just bravely escaped. The ignorance. These poor men are being retraumatized on every significant holiday just so you can see some cool designs in the air. They come home. Some of them are not even twenty-one years old yet. They cannot legally take a drink or smoke a cigarette. They can go off and shoot guns and watch people die all around them. How does this make sense? Then they come home only to find their mental health struggles amplified because people want to blow things up. People want the spectacle. With all of the interesting things going on in this planet, why do we need to focus on the things that are ruining it? The disrespect. I cannot even.

I have not even gotten to the spike in crime and gunshot killings on holidays like the Fourth of July. The Chicago Tribune reported that one-hundred and eight people were shot and seventeen people were killed in Chicago alone. The violence spikes because gunshots are masked by the sounds of the fireworks. These displays are deadly. Even cats and dogs, the most loving of all creatures, cannot stand the sounds. My friends say their veterinarians had to prescribe sedatives to get the animals through the night.

So we now have wildfires, triggered veterans, and scared pets all in the name of some people wanting to see a stupid show. We have not even gotten to the extreme damage fireworks cause to our beautiful environment. Heavy metals get into the water supply and contribute to acid rain. I am sorry but I have to ask, why are we still doing this?

The Take Away:

I have personally experienced a lot of trauma on my life journey. I have slept in my car and on the streets when I did not have anywhere to go. Now that I am in a safe space, I do not want to be hearing explosions all through out the night. There is havoc everywhere. Violence everywhere. Disturbances everywhere. Can we stop doing this? What in God's Great Earth gives us the right to screw up the planet just because we need some instant thrill? Please tell me why you think you deserve to blow things up at the expense of people's livelihood, mental health, pet's sanity, environmental security, and the physical health of others? Lives are in danger. Come on, people. Wake up. Respect yourself and others around you. Keep the beauty and the peace alive. I hope you have a minute to sit and think about this. I hope you have a blessed day. I hope you have a peaceful day filled with beauty and adventure. Get outside! Explore. Create. Do it. Do it now. Bye.