dailynotions

"A cheaper tradition would be, well, patriotic."

 Every 4^th of July that I can remember has been the same, and this year was no exception: A hop, skip and a jump down the street to watch the annual fireworks show. I would complain that parking is a hassle if finding seats with a decent view wasn’t even worse. A couple standing to my right is trying to calm their noisy Golden Retriever and looks anxious to leave before the first light is even ignited. The grade school boy seated to my left has his eyes glued to his iPod touch, which apparently has more luster than the colorful shooting stars overhead. A boom, crack, and a sparkle later, the much anticipated “grand finale” is over. My aunt remarks that the show seemed a bit skimpier than last year, but that the purple and gold starbursts were pretty. I shrug and we begin to migrate towards the car. No one seems to be any happier than when they arrived.

This spectacle, which is arguably less of a tradition than Christmas trees or Halloween masks, and certainly less entertaining than even the silliest made-for-TV movies, can cost up to a whopping 30,000 dollars per show. That’s right- thirty minutes of those artificial lights in the sky could pay for your college. This is why I propose that American cities should participate in a quainter Independence Day by letting the costly firework show go up in smoke.

There are well over 40,000 cities with zip codes in the United States. There is likely more than one fireworks show per zip code, but to err on the side of inexpensiveness this seems to be a safe number to use. Multiply that by a median of, say, 20,000 dollars per show, and these vibrant safety hazards that we hold so close to our hearts have a lofty 8 billion dollar national price tag. To put that in perspective, that’s one third the cost of the Race to the Moon, and one fourth the cost of the New Deal, two events which I believe had a greater impact on American history than a year’s worth of entertaining explosives. With an ever- growing national debt, an ever-growing unemployment rate, and an ever-growing need for a revised healthcare system, surely those 8 billion dollars could be better spent. A cheaper tradition would be, well, patriotic.

Right now you are probably exercising your right to protest, grilled hot dog in hand, demanding that “Americans need a celebratory event, especially when in the midst of a recession!” or, “sure, why don’t we just do away with Christmas presents next?” But hear me out.

Other than the obvious nostalgic childhood appeal of fireworks, and possibly a dizzying headache, what would we be missing out on? There are countless ways that we could spend our national holiday that would be fun without being wasteful. We could visit Veterans Clubs or send packages to enlisted troops overseas. We could host community baseball games with a small cover charge. We could invite friends over for an ironic tea party. We could put on community plays celebrating the politicians, artists, musicians and other influential people who shaped our countries’ culture. We could even dance to remixed, fast paced versions of our National Anthem in the streets. Most importantly, we could put the money otherwise spent on an anticlimactic light show towards an impactful cause that aims to uphold the values upon which our country was founded, a notion that never loses it’s luster.