As my wife and I went for an after-dinner walk through our neighborhood tonight, we were surrounded by the sound of fireworks coming from every direction.
It was a wonderful sound, the sound of people celebrating their freedom and independence.
But then it struck me that those same sounds may strike terror in the hearts of people living in countries that are currently at war. Do those loud bangs suggest gunfire and bombs?
The thought reminded me once again of how lucky we are and how grateful I am to be living in such a wonderful country.
Happy 4th!
According to the Chinese, those sounds ward off evil spirits. I just hope we won’t have to use the real thing someday in the future, to ward off the Chinese.
I hope you’ve had a happy Fourth, Jim!
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fingers crossed…
We did have a happy 4th, I hope you did as well!
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I was on a call with some colleagues from Malaysia and I assured them that it probably wasn’t gunfire that they hear in the background.
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I wonder how many people living outside the U.S. assume the U.S. is still like the wild west…
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Hopefully, all of them.
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🙂
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Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July 😁 Here in California its still going on and its actually a little louder this year. But as long as people are being safe and enjoying themselves then I will deal with the loudness this evening. 😁
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I agree; as long as people are staying safe, it was nice to hear the fireworks going off last night…
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My dog is not doing well, even though it’s only half as bad as last year. 10:45 here (sporadic explosions) but last year the fireworks went on past 1:30 a.m.
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our dog was relatively calm, but we have had others that were quite bothered by the fireworks… hopefully your dog is doing better this morning…
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We do have much to be thankful for! Happy 4th of July Jim! Though its now the 5th but I haven’t slept yet so to me its still the 4th. 🙂
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I hope you had a happy 4th as well, Carolyn!
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Thanks Jim, it was nice, we had my parents over tonight for a cookout and had a great time. I worked the weekend so we just delayed the celebration a little.
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always nice to share the celebration with your family…
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😊
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we definitely have so much to be grateful for. many fireworks around me as well, and my cats were not as happy about it as the humans were –
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our dog was alittle upset, but not too bad. nothing that a snack or two couldn’t help with 🙂
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I’m like that when upset)
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I like something junky, both to eat and to watch, at such times…
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In 1776, a fledgling nation struck out in the pursuit of its ideals. 245 years later, we still stand as a beacon of democracy. Though the rest of the world gets tired hearing it, we are the greatest country to live in. Happy Fourth to you and yours, my friend!
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USA! USA! USA!
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Happy Fourth of July to you, Jim. (a little late, I know)
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thanks, Norah!
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Great point about being reminded of our privilege of living in great countries without fault catastrophes to tend with! I love seeing and hearing fireworks displays when I’m out with my family but when my kid is trying to sleep and the fireworks sound like gunshots from my own backyard I get a bit tense and admittedly a little grouchy LOL… at least it’s not happening every day and every holiday 🤓🙏
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yes, for teh most part, it is a nice sound to hear, on special occasions. and speaking of gunshots, I always find it odd that some people seem to have a tradition of shooting off a gun on New Year’s Eve…
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They do!!? The shooting gun thing doesn’t happen here, not that I’ve ever known, seen or read about myself…
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it is a strange, and problematic, tradition…
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And animals…when we still had horses they would freak out so badly that it was dangerous. Happy independence day!
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I can’t imagine how horses were able to be used in armed battles years ago. I would have thought the noise would have just freaked them out.
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These horses were trained to be “bombproof”, ours weren’t 🙂
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that makes sense, althought I can’t imagine that the training was pleasnt for the horses involved
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I’m going to rain on the parade. Sorry.
Birthdays are good occasions to celebrate and to also take a look in the mirror. It is about time Americans come to their senses and stop believing their own propaganda about being the “greatest” country the world has ever seen. Really? How many times has that thought been drummed into our heads. The USA is actually the most brainwashed country in history. That has led to selling ourselves short on many things. Race is a brutally obvious area where America has a terrible record. Healthcare and income inequality also come to mind. But if we are so damn “great,” there is little incentive to change anything.
January 6 shows many Americans who would consider themselves to be extremely patriotic have a distorted idea of patriotism and how democracy works. We’d be better served if July 4 was used as a day to study and reflect on the principles and ideals upon which the country was founded.
I’m glad Juneteenth was added as a national holiday. It was done rather stealthily without a lot of fanfare. Many Americans are probably angry and confused over it. The fact that July 4, 1776 meant nothing to my ancestors is something many Americans would prefer to not be reminded of.
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thank you for your perspective, John. I always learn something from you when you share your thoughts.
I was happy to see Juneteenth come onto existence, but it all seemed so rushed, and without the proper fanfare a new federal holiday should have received. Hopefully next year it will be more celebratory.
And January 6 was an embarrassment to our country, perhaps the biggest I’ve experienced in my 63 years.
There’s no doubt that as a country we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I can’t think of a place I’d rather live.
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My perspective is based on my experiences which are different from the experiences of many of your readers.
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and that’s why I am glad you shared those experiences..
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Happy 5th, Jim, having missed the 4th due to time difference. An interesting collection of responses to your post, ranging from the blindly jingoistic to the harshly realistic!
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your range captures the U.S. very well!
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They’re all there in those comments!
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there was some respectful diversity of opinion, which is always nice to see…
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At least they haven’t resorted to abuse. Yet…
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so far, so good…
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I loathe the noise of fireworks as I have dogs. I love watching them though even if I know it’s a waste of money, and not environmentally friendly.
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our dog remained relatively calm, but I know cats and dogs are usually quite bothered by fireworks. I’d be happy is they just did the grand finale right up front, and it was over with…
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Happy 4th of July, Jim! My own country isn’t the best (Malaysia), but like you, I’m grateful that I can wake up in relative peace and not have to brave the crazy things going on in the world, such as the military coup happening in a neighbouring country. Thanks for this post!
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it is know to be able to wake up in peace, something I take for granted way too much…
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By now I am guessing from the comments you had a Happy 4th July…with much to be thankful for..it must be awful living where the sounds and bangs of fireworks strike fear and not pleasure x
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we did have a good 4th. I hope all is well in the land of smiles!
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Still battling covid and the fact no vaccines to be had x
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I would hope that the U.S. would start sharing some of its vaccine supply with Thailand and other countries…
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It would be a bonus we hear so many conflicting tales I haven’t a clue what is going on with vaccines x
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it’s both sad and outrageous…
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Absolutely x
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