We're approaching yet another commemoration of "Independence Day". It seems an appropriate time to bring up what's likely to be a sore subject with some. A subject which goes to the heart of how we celebrate this particular holiday. I'm talking about fireworks - blowing things up, real good. There are a couple of levels on which to evaluate fireworks - the individual and the institutional.

On the individual level, there are those folks who buy and set off a few (or more than a few) items for themselves and/or their kids. These minor demonstrations are not too traumatic. Then, there are those deeply disturbed individuals like my neighbor, who, come dusk (when it is harder to tell which deviant did it) set off M80s (which, for the uninitiated, sound like dynamite going off in your neighborhood). For people like this, the onset of cultural dementia has meant that nothing represents the celebration of independence like blowing stuff up, very loudly, for an extended period of time. Why not weddings, Easter, or kids birthdays? Those are celebrations, too! The mental anguish these folks must have endured to reach such a state is surely so profound that I'll comment no more about them or their lives (for now).

On the institutional level, there is the legitimate desire to produce a spectacle worthy of bringing together a large group of people as a community. Municipal firework displays have traditionally been great opportunities to see neighbors and enjoy an entertaining activity on a summer evening.

But one aspect of the traditional fireworks display which is seldom commented upon is how very polluting it is. Not only is air quality spectacularly degraded as a result of firework combustion, but the immediate area where the fireworks are set off becomes a large zone of litter, which is seldom thoroughly cleaned up after the event. In an era when air quality is regulated, and outdoor burning is either prohibited or strongly controlled, the impact of fireworks on the character of the air should be deliberated.

Another under-considered effect of fireworks displays is that which they have on wildlife and pets. I think we're all aware of the terror and dismay experienced by many dogs during the fireworks season, but we fail to consider how this affects other animals, too. Countless explosions during the season are a disturbance to the peace, and our wildlife and pet neighbors have difficulty understanding the meaning of it all.

In my opinion, it is at least worth pondering whether the temporal pleasure we receive from fireworks outweighs the detrimental effect they cause. In the future, all communities should evaluate alternative activities such as coordinated laser light and music displays, and whether exploding ordnance is the kind of thing we want to tolerate at all among the citizenry. It is the "independent" thing to do.

This article was published in the June 26, 2009 edition of The Parkville (Missouri) Luminary.