Much to the dismay of environmental attorney Marco Gonzalez, fireworks will illuminate the sky over La Jolla Cove this July 4.
San Diegans sorta have Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn to thank for this. As a refresher, back in May Quinn ruled that the annual fireworks display was subject to the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970. The ruling put the event in jeopardy as organizers would have needed to be granted an emergency appeal in order for the show to go on — something that was considered unlikely. Yet, Judge Quinn eventually issued a reprieve and the ruling was put on hold for 90 days.
Lovers of fireworks rejoiced. But Gonzalez and his ilk were not pleased. They said so on Twitter.
San Diego CityBeat editor David Rolland lamented that fireworks were dead to him. “I used to like fireworks, but thanks to Twitter, now I don’t,” Rolland tweeted.
Gonzalez stuck to his environmentalist guns and posted: “Absurd as it sounds, some actually think I do this to ruin other peoples’ fun. The “real” reason http://tinyurl.com/43sbov9,” linking to an Onion article about planet Earth being fed up with humans.
Gonzalez also argued that citizens should be upset with the City of San Diego — not him — for not being in compliance with environmental laws. “Amazing new legal standard — We should turn a blind eye to illegality because, ‘it’s all about fun,’” he told radio host LaDona Harvey.
As I watched the debate unfold on my computer screen, it became fairly obvious that the individuals opposed to fireworks weren’t conjuring up memories of Independence Days past or feeling nostalgic when the topic came up. They just didn’t seem to care about this classic American tradition. I attributed the disdain to their usual extremist tendencies and left it at that.
However, this morning I came across an article regarding a study that was conducted by Harvard University. The study examined whether there is a correlation between attending Fourth of July events as a child and party affiliation. The researchers found that Independence Day celebrations (fireworks included) have a significant impact on people’s political preferences. These festivities energize Republicans and help boost GOP turnout on Election Day. More importantly, they also concluded that children who attend the festivities are more likely to grow up to be Republicans.
Democrats gain nothing from July 4th celebrations. “There is no evidence of an increased likelihood of identifying as a Democrat, indicating that Fourth of July shifts preferences to the right rather than increasing political polarization,” the study states.
On a subconscious level, could this be the real motive behind the left’s crusade to stifle our Fourth of July fun? They don’t want our kids to grow up to be Republicans?
It seems a bit far fetched, but just to be on the safe side, Rostrafarians should take their families to a fireworks display this Independence Day. Consider it your civic duty.