Fireworks and the meaning of the Fourth of July
Listening to the fireworks on Monday night, I was struck by the commercialization of even this holiday. Christmas and even Easter I can handle. New Years is nothing more than a reason to celebrate the passing of another year, just like a birthday. Mother’s day, Valentine’s day, are squishy holidays, expressly for purchasing crap for your significant other. And don’t try to convince me that sweetheart’s day is anything but a Hallmark holiday. There are 2 reasons the commercialization of the 4th traumatizes me: 1) there’s no reason to spend money. 2) Its a real American holiday with real heroes to celebrate.
There is no inherent gift giving around the 4th of July. The only 4th of July sales involve bathing suits, beer, and steaks. Not things any man ever buys for his wife. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a 4th of July card. Christmas and Easter have fantasy characters that hand out goodies to the kiddies. I know that isn’t the true spirit of those holidays but at least I get the purchasing connection.
The other holidays I equate most closely with the 4th are Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. These are days that are meant to honor memory of those that served to keep us safe and warm. These holidays are a way for me to honor the men and women that gave quite literally all they had to give so that I could watch the Sopranos and consume Pizza Hut. Well maybe not specifically for cable and pizza but you get the idea. The other thing I like about these holidays is they also give me a chance to thank the people who I know that served. The 4th is about celebrating the birth of the single greatest nation on this earth and honoring the people that suffered, sacrificed and guided a radical idea into a fortuitous reality. I don’t believe for one second that when the kid next door gets that crazy gleam in his eye and sets the dog aflame that he is thinking about the country he lives in or the sacrifices that were made so he could live the life of relative luxury in which he exists.
I’m not quite sure what the cause of my negative reaction is. I don’t mean to sound like an old curmudgeon, but I do. I suppose I should rant about how sports, politics, food, and women were better when I was younger. But it wouldn’t be true. In my younger days I certainly enjoyed blowing stuff up as much as the next guy. And I know I wasn’t thinking about Ben Franklin, John Adams or Alexander Hamilton when I was doing it! Maybe the problem is simply that I have a job this year and I needed to get up early on Tuesday.
There is no inherent gift giving around the 4th of July. The only 4th of July sales involve bathing suits, beer, and steaks. Not things any man ever buys for his wife. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a 4th of July card. Christmas and Easter have fantasy characters that hand out goodies to the kiddies. I know that isn’t the true spirit of those holidays but at least I get the purchasing connection.
The other holidays I equate most closely with the 4th are Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. These are days that are meant to honor memory of those that served to keep us safe and warm. These holidays are a way for me to honor the men and women that gave quite literally all they had to give so that I could watch the Sopranos and consume Pizza Hut. Well maybe not specifically for cable and pizza but you get the idea. The other thing I like about these holidays is they also give me a chance to thank the people who I know that served. The 4th is about celebrating the birth of the single greatest nation on this earth and honoring the people that suffered, sacrificed and guided a radical idea into a fortuitous reality. I don’t believe for one second that when the kid next door gets that crazy gleam in his eye and sets the dog aflame that he is thinking about the country he lives in or the sacrifices that were made so he could live the life of relative luxury in which he exists.
I’m not quite sure what the cause of my negative reaction is. I don’t mean to sound like an old curmudgeon, but I do. I suppose I should rant about how sports, politics, food, and women were better when I was younger. But it wouldn’t be true. In my younger days I certainly enjoyed blowing stuff up as much as the next guy. And I know I wasn’t thinking about Ben Franklin, John Adams or Alexander Hamilton when I was doing it! Maybe the problem is simply that I have a job this year and I needed to get up early on Tuesday.
1 Comments:
What you said.
First and foremost, what you said about the meaning of the Fourth of July. I wonder if one person in 1,000 has ANY idea what it meant for Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Hancock to sign the Declaration of Independence. I wonder if one person in 10,000 knows. I think not.
I have no problem with grilling steaks and enjoying a day off with family and friends. I should think these men who put their lives on the line would approve. Relaxation, congregation and digestation without the threat of tyrany. It seems apropos.
But I too am sick of the neighborhood children (many of them in their 40's I imagine) bombarding our ears with pointless explosions until the wee hours. In Ohio almost all fireworks are illegal. So much for the rule of law.
Or the real meaning of the day.
--Dreeves
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