The Fourth of July is an antiquated holiday, and the use of fireworks should be banned altogether. It's not like we, as a country, unite on this day and truly celebrate this fine oligarchy we live in. It's a day for people to get drunk and make pretty colors go boom. Fireworks produce smoke and dust that contain various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds, and other noxious chemicals. Their use also deposits litter on the ground and into bodies of water for miles around. This so-called "day of celebration" creates tragic events and injuries resulting from fireworks use, and is both traumatizing and harmful to children, animals, and a growing number of war veterans. And let us not forget the countless FIRES people cause by shootin' this shit off. It's a stupid way to celebrate this holiday, and I say we put a ban on fireworks up for a vote. No intelligent human being can logically say, in this day and age, we need to create more pollution under the guise of celebrating the birth of this country. Who's with me?—Anonymous