Independence day

Monday

William Newton

CreatiVets and the art of war

On Independence Day, Americans recall not only the ideals that led to the founding of the United States, but the sacrifices of those who have made our unique experiment into an ongoing reality. Recognizing the challenges that affect many who have been in the military, CreatiVets, founded in 2013, provides help to disabled veterans through engagement with the arts. Program participants learn how to address and share their experiences through studio arts, music, songwriting and creative writing. The organization’s goal is to help these veterans “transform their stories of trauma and struggle into an art form that can inspire and motivate continued healing.

CreatiVets

Thursday

Alina Poliakova

Renewed hope on Ukraine’s Independence Day 

Kyiv Because I was born on the same day as Ukrainian Independence, there were always fireworks on my birthday. Until I was eight, I thought these rockets were in my honor. I even asked my mother to bring a bag so that I could catch a “firework” and it would keep shining for me all night long.  In addition to fireworks, there were concerts and cotton candy, and the fountain on the main square would be transformed from ordinary to multi-colored. It was like the Fourth of July in America, only on August 24 in Ukraine. But my childhood is over, I’ve become an adult and this year after eighteen months of Russia’s full-scale war, I’m not expecting fireworks. I’m hoping there won’t be Russian rockets or Iranian drones either. War forces us to adjust.

independence

Tuesday

John Pietro

Don’t deprive Americans of July 4 fireworks

The Fourth of July is an opportunity to reflect upon the miracle that is the founding of the United States, a process that has been instrumental in the spread of freedom, democracy and human rights across the globe. That, unquestionably, is something worth celebrating. Fireworks have been a part of this celebration from the start, with displays gracing the skies of Philadelphia and Boston in 1777. For some parts of the country, however, the days of fireworks may be numbered, as the displays’ environmental and health impacts collide with politics. Reuters published a piece on June 30 detailing all of the dangers associated with the patriotic explosions.

fireworks

Wednesday

Amber Duke

Celebrating the Fourth in free Florida

For the first time in my adult life, I left Washington, DC for the Fourth of July holiday. Apparently this is a very popular move: locals usually prefer to escape the concrete jungle in favor of sunny shores, winding rivers, or, well, anywhere but here. Not me. Party hopping around the nation's capital before settling in at a secret spot away from all of the tourists to watch fireworks on the National Mall makes this one of my favorite days of the year. However, driven by both a desire to visit family and check out what everyone was raving about in our July magazine, this year I hopped on a southbound plane to the Sunshine State. The weekend took me from Tampa to Sarasota to Naples, experiencing all of the weird and wonderful that Florida has to offer.

Sunday

Teresa Mull

The right to keep and bear fireworks

The political arena is hotter than ever with fights raging over rights and freedoms and all that good American stuff. But one topic missing from these debates only gets the attention it deserves for about a week every year each July: the right to keep and bear fireworks. It's a right heavily restricted in sixteen states and straight-up illegal in Massachusetts. Yes, Massachusetts, home of the Boston Tea Party, that act of defiance that sparked our patriotic tradition of blowing things up. In the Pennsylvania Wilds — the romantic name a tourism agency gave to the hick region of the state where I reside — things go boom year-round.

Matt Purple

This great ungovernable country

Back in 2020, the oozing governor of California, Gavin Newsom, took it upon himself to all but cancel the Fourth of July. Newsom issued a statement encouraging towns and cities across his state to shut down any fireworks shows they might have planned, so as to prevent people from congregating and spreading Covid. The reliably meddlesome Los Angeles County then went a step further, banning displays of fireworks altogether. The people of LA considered this. They stroked their chins. And they said, "You know what? I don't think this is for me." The night of the Fourth, Angelenos sent up so many fireworks that the next day a local authority had to issue an air quality warning.