Fireworks are lots of things I like: colorful, spectacular, surprising, celebratory, community-oriented. I should enjoy them, but typically I don’t, and this weekend’s A-Town display was no exception.
“Why?” you ask. (“Yes, why?” I ask myself.) Well, they’re expensive, extravagant, and loud. They take place in public places in the dark, surrounding me and my young with strangers of unknown and therefore questionable character. I feel apprehensive and insecure whenever I am supposed to be taking pleasure in the pyrotechnic performance. The situation puts me on edge, accompanied by a booming, banging, smoky sky. It’s unnerving, I tell you.
The A-Town fireworks are launched in a local park, with lots of lawn where folks can spread out their blankets, lie on their backs, and gawk at the sky. We picked a bad spot. That’s what Will said. Last year, when he took the kids and I stayed home (because I don’t typically enjoy fireworks, remember?), there apparently were no gangly groups of unsupervised adolescents roving the park, shouting and swearing and showing off for each other, saying things I didn’t want my as-yet-innocent offspring to hear. (In that respect, I was grateful for the firecrackers’ snaps-crackles-n-pops.)
The objection to extravagance—well, that’s my mother’s doing. My blurred memories of attending fireworks displays with my parents include multiple mentions of starving children in Africa. Some people remember being made to clean their dinner plates on that basis; I was forced to face the dialectical tension of being an American taking part in a pricey national pastime, while knowing that people in other parts of the world had so little rice to live on that their babies’ bellies swelled for lack of food to fill them. The problem of poverty persists (and these days, I know there were hungry people right there on the A-Town lawn).
Some Americans might argue that our great nation’s birthday is worthy of expenditure. We should celebrate our freedoms and enjoy the blessings of living in this land of opportunity. But I still struggle to make peace with the realities of the multinational mindset my mother instilled in me. I guess I’ll sit and sip my gourmet coffee while I ponder the price of awareness.
7 comments:
Interesting thoughts, however, consider this... Celebrations often bring people together in positive circumstances in ways they might not otherwise meet. In my South Wedge / Corn Hill neighborhood we get for public celebrations to reconnect, celebrate together, and reflect on the mutual blessings of being citizens of such a great and wealth nation. Instead or retreating to our private 4 walls, we make contact with people who we may have the joy of partnering with to reach out to bless those less fortunate, both locally and abroad. We earn the right to challenge their selfishness and fears, and they earn the right to challenge ours. You may be thinking "Are you naive or what? You think you accomplish all that by laying on a blanket and smiling at strangers?" Well, actually, yes. We are planting seeds of friendship, meeting people connected to us in surprising ways and earning their trust. We are reinforcing the standards of civility and even better - community - and sharing wonder and awe together. Yes, this may seem like a radical, entrepreneurial approach to community, but I can walk down my street on a warm summer evening, and introduce you to at least a dozen neighbors who share this perspective. Together we have learned to move from fear to claiming and embracing our neighborhood and other communities (work, recreation, and worship) in ways that make each of these communities better. Shared fireworks may be but a tiny part of this passion and commitment, but even the tiny parts are important!
Thanks very much for this thoughtful response, Eric. I will now gladly ponder your positivity!
Marsha, you brought up many good points. You are shaking my love of fireworks! Ha! Though I am not that easily persuaded.
I was denied fireworks as a child. If we could see them from far enough away that they could not be heard, I saw fireworks. My mother had Ligyrophobia- the fear of loud noises. I was not allowed to have a balloon, a cap gun, or anything that made a loud noise – especially an unexpected loud noise. Therefore, I feel a need to make up for my childhood years! I buy balloons for any reason and delight in the beauty of fireworks.
Last night, the Boston Pops fireworks did not disappoint. Every year they come out with fresh twists to pyrotechnics and new creativity in displaying the same old/same old. The 2009 Boston display used the Spider in multiples -- overlay over overlay creating a breathtaking visual. Some Spiders had colored centers. Ahhhhh… (I am a vocal watcher!) Then they shot off multiple Palms in a variety of colors. The Willow is a beauty too. The Ring is a favorite because it is so unusual. The combinations of shells used with the Ring last night were gorgeous. And on top of it all, the visual was coordinated to music! Right on the beat! Amazing! It is an art.
I have seen shoddy displays that certainly were not worth the money or time.
The cost is a valid point, yet who pays for them? Taxpayers? I doubt it is always taxpayers. I think corporations sponsor them too. Even if it is taxpayers, think about it: it is marketing our way of life – “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” We took our kids to the Gateway Arch every 4th of July for the huge party there. It is important to instill a love of country and pride in their citizenship.
Our freedoms are slipping away from us at an alarming rate with few balking. I don’t understand… It is very scary. If we don’t stop this insidious government take-over of everything, we will not be celebrating our independence on the 4th of July in a few years. The liberals may want to celebrate their dependence upon big government, yet there will be no money for fireworks from taxpayers or corporations.
I never did understand how my eating everything on my plate was going to make it any better for someone on the other side of the world. My parents donated to missions, therefore, that gave me the option of not stuffing myself. With the alarming rate of obesity, I do hope that parents no longer try to force-feed their children just because others are going hungry.
The issue of safety certainly is a valid consideration. Yet, I wouldn’t think that A-Town is really that dangerous. I must confess that, as I daydreamed about attending the Boston Pops 4th of July someday, how would I carry my valuables in an elbow to elbow crowd? Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s in St. Louis, a city with one of the highest crime rates then and now, we did not worry. We carried our food, chairs, blankets in a wagon. I didn’t own a waistbag in those days. I probably carried a shoulder strap purse. In my daydream, I decided that, in Boston, I would wear a money belt with ID under my clothes and not carry a purse.
I will continue to celebrate my country as long as my country exists in a form that I can recognize. But I am worried…
Interesting about the Ligyrophobia--I did not know that about your mother. Do you suppose it's hereditary and that's part of my problem with fireworks? (jk)
As for the safety, I didn't feel seriously, bodily threatened--just a low-level sense of dread about what passersby might say or do, uncouth speech or behavior I'd rather not hear while "enjoying" the holiday time with my young family.
Nevertheless, our God reigns. This is one of many occasions in life in which the Spirit prompts me to breathe, trust, and let Love rule. "We will not fear for Thou hast willed Thy truth to triumph through us!"
I am on 100% on board with you Marsha, I am not a fan either, for some of the reasons you mention here and a few others. Not happy today about the folks in my neighborhood who decided to have their own fireworks celebration at 1:00 this morning.
Mary
Sister,next year come sit in our front yard with us. It is just that crowd of verbal and visual pollution that keeps me away. But we have an excellent view from our house, and you wouldn't be with strangers!And the noise is a bit less offensive too :-)
I am so sorry that I spoiled it for you. Maybe I could blame my mother, but I really don't remember. The earliest one I remember had on-the-ground scenes or objects that gradually lit up like a marquee, and ever after I compared fireworks by that display.
Mom
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