Saturday, July 03, 2021

Annual PSA for July 4th celebrations

Find other ways to celebrate than re-creating a war zone!

Animals of every kind, including wildlife and birds, are negatively affected. People are affected, especially combat veterans and anyone who has been traumatized by gunfire. Many animals including livestock cannot be brought inside to safety. Shouldn’t a celebration of independence be something quiet and peaceful for all?

I just got an email that at least one neighbor will be setting on fireworks tonight. While I very much appreciate the notice, I wish they would choose not to do it at all. 

My least favorite years are the ones when July 4th falls on a weekend night, which seems to stretch out the celebrations. This year I’ll spend July 3rd AND 4th sitting at the barn hoping for the best. Thankfully the thunderstorm last night meant I didn’t have to be out for three nights in a row.

If you read this and you’re planning fireworks, please at least think through what it means to every living thing around you. If you think it through and decide to do it anyway, then consider what that says about who you are as a person. I’m being very serious. What does it mean to do something loud and obnoxious that others cannot get away from? That you are imposing onto them because you have the “right” to do it?

We all need to practice considering how our behavior impacts others. Let’s all start right now. 

2 comments:

Grey Horse Matters said...

I agree. I think it's obnoxious and stupid. Go to a professional fireworks display or watch one on tv is you absolutely need to have fireworks in your July 4th celebration. Luckily for us it rained last night so no jerks were setting off ash cans in our neighborhood near the barn. I hope since it's a little drizzly today the same will hold true, then again they're off tomorrow (Monday) also. We'll see what happens. Last year I couldn't believe that the barn across the street...that's right, I said the barn across the street from us...was setting off fireworks. I'm not crazy about their horse keeping practices but this took it to another level.

billie said...

I always love when it rains on July 4th!

Sadly our rain came early this year, though at least it wet the ground so there is less chance of fires!

Last night the neighbor set off fireworks and there were many distant booms happening as well. Thankfully we didn’t get smoke in our arena area, and thankfully the cicadas, tree frogs, and crickets were loud enough that we had a sort of global white noise, which had some muting effect on the sounds of the fireworks.

All that said, I gave Rescue Remedy and two doses of Confidence EQ pheromone gel. Keil was agitated and anxious, though he never broke into a trot. I fed horse cookies and drank wine and tried to model nonchalance while they ate hay near the barn. We were able to turn them out before 11, so at least it didn’t go past midnight!

I dread tonight. Our sheriff’s department put out a warning that they would be patrolling and issuing citations + confiscating illegal fireworks (in NC this means anything that goes up) - which would be great, except there was a high speed chase yesterday with 4 heavily armed men and they spent all day searching for them. Have caught three, but one is still out there. I hope they find him before tonight so they can do the patrolling they planned on.