The Fourth of July is not a military holiday.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

It does not commemorate Yorktown or Lexington and Concord but rather the simple, peaceable signing of a document declaring our independence.

Our two main military holidays celebrate not the weapons of war but instead the men and women who fought them.

The idea that there should be a holiday to parade our weapons up and down the street is something that should be completely foreign to us.

[2naSalit]

1. Yet they are celevrated with the

sounds of war and explosions. Pretty or not, fireworks, to me, are a celebration of warmongering.

[TwilightZone]

2. Fireworks have been around for 1100 years.

I'm not sure the Chinese would agree that they're representative of warmongering.

They are not now, nor have they ever been, a uniquely American thing, nor are they solely a celebration of patriotism, etc. Cities around the world use them to celebrate the New Year and other significant events. Sydney is famous for its NYE fireworks.

[2naSalit]

12. I know the history of fireworks...

What they represent in the present sucks.

[Locrian]

19. and I agree with you

I know the history as well - but it's more than obvious how they are seen at least in the US as a celebration of war.
If not by all then at least by the vast majority...

Not to mention the pollution and waste

[pazzyanne]

31. I have always found 4th of July fireworks a celebration of freedom.

When did that change?

[Locrian]

40. for me it changed when they started selling more of the "powerful" stuff...

At least around here - it's seriously like a battle zone.

And it didn't use to be that way.
Smoke so thick you have to close everything up - stuff landing all over.
They didn't used to sell the types of mortars that are popular now.

Went out to buy a few roman candles and saw the maga crowd stocking up (yes, confederate flags, trump stickers etc). Seriously thousands of dollars of mortars, rockets, etc.

I don't mind normal firework events etc. It's just gotten to the point of a drunken free for all - yes, a lot of the people lighting them off are wasted off their ass.

[pazzyanne]

41. I come from a small rural town that has done an annual 4th of July Celebration

for a hundred years. It has stayed amazingly home town. 4 years ago I worked the 4th of July until 10 pm. On my 20 mile drive home there were many private farm fireworks available, but nothing mega huge. My hope is that it's celebration continues to be that way into the future.

[Locrian]

43. sounds like a nice town! my kinda place.... n/t

[edhopper]

6. No they are not

They are used for events worldwide that have nothing to do with war, like the Olympics.

[2naSalit]

13. To me it sounds like a war zone so I have such feelings about them...nt

[edhopper]

24. I can understand that

but that doesn't mean they are meant to be an imitation of war.

That is like saying a football game is just like the Nuremberg Rally.

[bahrbearian]

3. It is now. Wait till you see what happens to Christmas.

Trumps planning on bringing back the Crusades.

[maddiemom]

18. The more you think about it, the more apt that analogy becomes .

I was just going to comment LOL, but after I thought about it.........Spot On! (I'm little slow on the uptake this morning).

[kskiska]

4. Even the Star-Spangled Banner

was written after the War of 1812.

[2naSalit]

21. and celebrated a war...

As a child, I heard a lot about why war is good in reference to the revoution while being told why war is bad.

The song itself celebrates war

"And the rockets' red glare
The bombs bursting in air..."

[SQUEE]

25. Gave proof to the night

That our flag was still there.

The explosions and fire from the English rockets were illuminating the American flag, showing in the night that it was still there, waving, defiant and strong in the darkness..

It's a song about resilience and triumph against adversity, something we all need right now.

[Volaris]

33. Fuck him. He's a temporary occupant, and a 'system glitch' at that.

WE will still be here, long after his worthless orange ass dies in prison.

[Volaris]

35. I suspect I am, as neither himself nor pence (or any other president)

Will be able to pardon him from the crimes the state of New York would bring against him for tax evasion and money laundering

CHEERS!!

[Aristus]

5. Neither is Super Bowl Sunday.

But look what they've done with that shit.

[maxsolomon]

7. It is now.

The mask is slipping off the American Empire.

If you don't think President Rapist Asshole will have another one in 2020, during the heat of the election campaign, you're delusional.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

[Mr Jimmy]

8. Declaring our independence led directly to the revolutionary WAR!

This country was founded on WAR not some peaceful declaration.

Nice thought, but it's not our history.

[TimeToGo]

11. That's not really the point.

[RHMerriman]

26. he war had begun in 1775...

The Declaration of Independence came in 1776, and was, quite literally, an effort by the delegates to make the conflict about something greater than simple military power.

[MarcA]

9. Some would have all our national celebrations be about military and religion. n/t

[UTUSN]

10. K&R

[orleans]

14. does north korea ring a bell?

didn't trump come up with this brainstorm after going to see his pal? i'm surprised he won't be hauling nukes down the street behind the tanks

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. He got the idea in France at their Bastille Day parade.

But I'm guessing he didn't really get what Bastille Day was about: The celebration on July 14 commemorates the storming of the Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris which held people who had been jailed on the basis of royal indictments that could not be appealed and did not indicate the reason for the imprisonment as well as other political prisoners whose writings had displeased the monarchy. It had become a symbol of the autocratic French monarchy.

[struggle4progress]

15. We wish thee, Fare well! mad moronic King and half-witted Princess Dementia!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. You make the key point. "You may think you have overeaten but it is patriotism."

[maddiemom]

20. My mom really LOVED Bombeck...so much sense beneath the humor.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. No one is going to attack us anymore

They don't have to. Trump already surrenders whatever they want.

[karynnj]

22. It also always seemed a celebration of community and civics

In some ways, like Thanksgiving, it had an almost old fashioned feel. The images were families and friends together at a cookout, towns draped with red, white and blue hunting, people sitting in bleachers listening to small town leaders followed by fire works.

It celebrated our liberty, our democracy and we, the people.

[Igel]

37. The military was present in some form when I was growing up.

'60s and '70s.

The Marine Corps Band was a usual component of whatever "celebration" was on tap on tv.

My little berg had a parade. The VFW post was invariably out in full force, in the lead ahead of the fire department or any civil-society groups.

Fly-overs were a standard part of it, in large areas.

We've edited this out of our collective memory--or perhaps Maryland was just far too conservative at the time and didn't count as "American"?

It's like the military hardware on display at Kennedy's inauguration. Or Eisenhower's. We forget it and then bobble-head nod when others say, "It's un-American to have military hardware in an inauguration. It would be a first, and no *real* American would even think about it." Meaning we just classified JFK as an enemy of the people and Eisenhower as a non-American. Or we've displayed our collective amnesia when it comes to rhetorical flourishes.

(As for fireworks, I don't know that they mean much to most people besides "let's have fun" now and so I really don't care about their deep history. At the same time, what they "mean" is both fully dependent just on the intent of the displayer as well as on the interpreter, but with different weightings for different purposes. It's hardly like we have a federal-sponsored fireworks display to scare away evil spirits, thus establishing a kind of national faith in the present of evil demons that hurt us but can be dispelled by loud noises and flashes of light.)

[Turin_C3PO]

45. What Trump did yesterday was unamerican.

Pretty much all Democrats agree on that.

[forgotmylogin]

23. Yes. Independence was declared on paper, not a battlefield

Even though everyone who signed knew they were done for if the system failed.

[Volaris]

30. It IS completely foreign to us, and that's why this feels so repulsive to so many people.

We KNOW (even some of the deplorables, I suspect) that this is NOT who we are.

[malaise]

32. I hope the Military are pissed about having to fawn over this fool

on a public holiday

[SunSeeker]

38. Exactly. We have two other holidays, Veterans Day and Memorial Day, to celebrate our military. nt

[sarge43]

39. This military retiree couldn't agree more.

If we're going to honor anyone on this day, they should be the people who make this country worth defending ...

Teachers, linemen, health care providers from paramedics to hospice employees, musicians, firefighters, park rangers, librarians, writers, snow removal crews, all the people who make our lives a little easier, a little better.

(Your list of unspoken heroes here)

[lonely bird]

44. Perhaps it is time for a new "holiday"?

Perhaps the day after on July 5th we should honor and commemorate those indigenous peoples killed by the thousands by the European coming here. Perhaps we should honor and commemorate the millions of slaves brought and kept in bondage. Perhaps we should honor and commemorate those who were deemed the “other” be they Catholic, Irish, Italian, Hispanic, of African descent, Muslims, Gays and so on.

Whether or not there were military hardware displays or marching soldiers on past 4ths of July is irrelevant. Perhaps it is time for some introspection and acknowledgement that, yes, the military fought and many died but also many others fought and died as well.

Enough of this patriotism crap being used as a measuring stick as to how “American” you are. Patriotism has crossed the threshold of nationalism.

[YOHABLO]

46. I always wondered: what would we have become if not for the Revolutionary War?

Canada 2.0 ?