While we’re well past New Year’s and still months away from the 4th of July, Louisa says it’s never too early or too late to consider the wisdom of igniting the skies with fireworks.
An Op-Ed by 8th-Grader Louisa Richardson
I have a question, one that seems to be quite controversial: Are fireworks a good thing? Is a moment of “Ah!” worth the trauma they cause?
Personally, I think that fireworks should be illegal. They are bad for war veterans (MIlitary Vets), PTSD victims (Coping With PTSD), and animals (Humane Society). Here are several reasons why fireworks are bad in general.
My first reason as to why fireworks are bad is because of how difficult it is to find an article on why fireworks are a good thing. The first things that come up when you type in “fireworks” in your search bar include . . .
fireworks are bad
fireworks are stupid
fireworks are illegal
fireworks are bad for the environment
When you hit “Enter,” a bunch of injuries come up. Headlines read: “Don’t Blow It This Fourth Of July because Fireworks Are Illegal In City Limits!” If you click on an article such as “Don’t Blow It . . . ,” you often see accident stories and statistics involving fireworks, which brings me to my point, safety (cityofredlands.org). The city of Redlands cites “More than 16,000 fires and almost 9,000 emergency room visits are associated with fireworks nationally each year” (cityofredlands.org).
Fireworks are very dangerous; this may seem obvious as they are literal exploding sticks of fire, but apparently not obvious to everyone. One of the most obvious things that gets ignored when discussing fireworks is the danger to personal property. It would be wise, of course, to light fireworks away from one’s house. However, even one of my very intelligent blog colleagues, Levi Kassinove, has lit them in front of his house. Levi’s stories of fireworks include how his cousin almost killed his family with a held-upside-down firework that somehow lit nothing on fire, and how his neighbors once lit a tree on fire with a firework. People often don’t respect firework safety because it gives them a better view, or a better time! I understand the desire to have fun with fireworks, but that doesn’t mean abusing safety rules, and risking the safety of yourself and those around you, which usually leads to injuries or death.
Injuries and death due to fireworks are far more common than they should be. In the year 2021, in the weeks surrounding the Fourth of July, it was estimated by the United States CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION that there were 1,500 injuries due to fireworks and 1,100 due to sparklers (CPSC.gov). The simple answer to this problem would be to follow safety regulations, but people are very silly and sometimes unintelligent–not only that but accidents can still happen. Deaths due to fireworks can happen pretty much anywhere: nightclubs, Fourth of July celebrations, just at home, and even churches.
Another issue with fireworks is that they can be very frightening to certain groups. Fireworks often sound like gunshots to veterans, victims of shootings, and just people who have a phobia of guns. Many folks have been through horrible things, and is it really worth it to have them go through it all over again for something like one minute of happiness? The sound frightens some, but so does the smell. Fireworks smell like the aftermath of a bomb to some veterans (US Department of Veterans Affairs). We don’t want to remind people of awful episodes just because kids like the pretty light show.
I’m sure that we have all seen or experienced a dog flipping out because of fireworks nearby. One thing you may not know is that all animals fear fireworks. Animals aren’t used to having giant booming noises above their habitat, and this can make them really terrified. Dogs hide under couches of course, but not every animal has the luxury of a couch to filter the noise. There is a very simple fix to this problem.
Drone firework shows are becoming more and more frequent as a substitute for real fireworks. They aren’t bad for the environment; they aren’t bad for veterans, and they aren’t bad for animals.
In conclusion, just because I hate fireworks, doesn’t mean I want to rob others the happiness of a light show. I encourage all of these firework fanatics to sit back and enjoy a drone fireworks show some time. They can be even better than fireworks!
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