tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post3402784980429303561..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: “Something of the American Ideal” in Fireworks?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-34038458295449676252009-07-09T10:24:43.246-05:002009-07-09T10:24:43.246-05:00You prefer a “mob at a bonfire” to a democraticall...You prefer a “mob at a bonfire” to a democratically elected government? Well, I disagree. I think that view romanticizes how mobs work. It also ignores the axiom that for all of democracy’s faults it’s still better than every other political system that we’ve ever tried.<br /><br />Mobs at bonfires were rarely aimed at people in power; more often they targeted outsiders, whether it be Catholics in colonial Boston’s Pope Night or blacks at Ku Klux Klan rallies. The Revolutionary demonstrations, encouraged by one set of politicians and aimed at another, were exceptional.<br /><br />For another thing, the people ended up hurt by anarchic mobs tended not to be the rich, powerful, and corrupt, but the defenseless. Two young boys were killed in Boston’s Pope Night battles, and Isaiah Thomas was nearly a third. <br /><br />Political protest and civil disobedience have long and honorable traditions in Massachusetts and the world. People have engaged in those activities to highlight injustice. Lighting off backyards fireworks makes the important case for...?J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-26805483755394088792009-07-08T22:04:53.908-05:002009-07-08T22:04:53.908-05:00"For the audience here in Massachusetts, howe..."For the audience here in Massachusetts, however, even the safest private fireworks detonation would be telling children, “It doesn’t matter what our democratic government has decided; I’m going to do what I want.”"<br /><br />And the source of all wisdom in Massachusetts is found on Beacon Hill? That stink-pit of corruption and influence-peddling? You lost me there, my friend. <br /><br />Boston had a long tradition of anarchic bonfires and petty arson to celebrate the 4th - always opposed by the forces of law and order, and eventually squashed by concerns of safety. Of course, the government was less oncerned with safety that with free people raising hell as they saw fit. A mob at a bonfire is always about five minutes from marching on town hall with a barrel of pitch and a sack of feathers, and the powers that be know it. We lost something important when the bonfires of old were domesticated into the fireworks of today. The bonfires - with their fireworks - were community events, organized by community men. Fireworks are entertainment at a safe distance, properly regulated and isolated from the population. There's more to life than safety. <br /><br />http://rememberjamaicaplain.blogspot.com/search?q=bonfireMark B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-21839092033391674902009-07-02T16:43:38.750-05:002009-07-02T16:43:38.750-05:00You’re in a different legal position, up there in ...You’re in a different legal position, up there in New Hampshire. Your duly elected officials and public servants have <i>not</i> decided that fireworks are too dangerous for sale to and detonation by the public. <br /><br />Therefore, you can light off fireworks with all necessary attention to safety, and send no mixed messages to young observers.<br /><br />For the audience here in Massachusetts, however, even the safest private fireworks detonation would be telling children, “It doesn’t matter what our democratic government has decided; I’m going to do what I want.”<br /><br />(I actually don’t think “individual responsibility” was a big factor in the New England Revolutionary movement. Its themes were <i>community</i> responsibility, everyone working as a group, and upholding local government instead of the distant imperial government. Voices for individual liberties in spite of public opinion, such as <a href="http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2007/02/theophilus-lillie-shopkeeper-importer.html" rel="nofollow">Theophilus Lillie</a>, were often shut down. Not until we had a republic for a while did folks realize that it was valuable to protect individuals and minorities as well as the nation or community as a whole. Just some thoughts for the holiday.)J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-44253942130722344902009-07-02T12:21:34.956-05:002009-07-02T12:21:34.956-05:00On the other hand, we could be good parents (and u...On the other hand, we could be good parents (and uncles) to our children and supervise their activity, teaching them proper firework safety, and drilling in to their little impressionable minds what happens when one doesn't follow the rules.<br /><br />That way, they won't be so tempted to do it in secrecy and get seriously injured in the process.<br /><br />Another thing America wanted out of that revolt was individual responsibility; Maybe we should remember that, too.Robert S. Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06208771657848284055noreply@blogger.com