My Children Will Never Roam The Streets On The Fourth Of July, Ever

I love America just as much as the next person, but the Fourth Of July is a terrifying holiday.

I’ve generally been able to avoid the terror because I’ve always lived in big cities where fireworks are illegal. If you skipped travelling to a big fireworks display, you could miss the whole holiday entirely. I’ve recently moved to a city where fireworks are legal. Last night was terrifying. I hated every minute of it, and there is no way I’m ever letting my children out on the streets on Fourth of July, ever.

Yes, in Brooklyn there would be the occasional errant firecracker set off by someone who had obtained it illegally. But the activity going on in my neighborhood last night was ridiculous; every house had their own display, the air was thick with smoke, and it sounded like a war zone. Yay, America! Thanks for terrifying my dog and polluting our air!

Seriously though, a lot of people got hurt last night. I couldn’t even finish reading all the stories today because they were so awful.

In Los Angeles, almost 30 people were injured – four of them seriously – when a wooden stand collapsed sending live fireworks exploding into a crowd of up to 10,000 people.

In Virgina, one boy is in critical condition after he was shot in the head while he was watching some nearby fireworks with his father.

Police believe the bullet was shot from outside The Boathouse Restaurant in Midlothian and the boy was shot accidentally.

Also in Oklahoma, another seven-year-old boy on a parade float was killed when his father accidentally ran over him.

Even seemingly harmless sparklers are dangerous as hell. Dr. Bill Hickerson, Medical Director of the Regional Medical Center’s Firefighter’s Regional Burn Unit tells Fox News:

“Everyone thinks those sparklers are so cute, but unfortunately they’re 1,200-degrees, and a child touches that and that’s a third-degree burn,” he says, “If you put three sparklers together, it’s the same as a blow torch.”

The Fourth of July is clearly a nationally-sanctioned day of terror. Don’t call me un-American either. I think we can celebrate America without putting crowds of people and neighborhoods in danger by allowing them to handle domesticated explosives.

(photo: Kedsirin/ Shutterstock)