It would be much more useful if certain people could just open their eyes to what they’re putting their non-human fellow denizens of this planet through, in their mindless fascination with making things go bang—especially when this involves deep, thunder-like booms.

Thunder is a sound that strikes mortal terror into almost every creature on Earth—and for good reason. The often fatal lightning strikes that tend to accompany it are impossible to outrun, or even see coming.  Millions of years of natural selection predispose almost everything that breathes to find loud, deep, booming noises unendurably frightening.

As the detonation of fireworks comes to accompany more and more celebrations which have nothing to do with commemorating a revolution whose success was  enabled by military victories, I believe it’s time to stop and ask ourselves a fundamental question:

Why in the world do so many people today associate explosions with happiness?  After all, in real life, they’re more typically linked to dismemberment. Shouldn’t such a strange form of pleasure be regarded as an antisocial aberration—akin to pyromania or necrophilia?

Apparently, some Americans are so deeply addicted to this bizarre type of turn-on that they’ve become unable to muster a reasonable amount of empathy for any of the nearly infinite number of other beings that are terrorized by it. Sadly, this seems often to include their own household pets.

I’ve also noticed that setting off illegal fireworks tends to be more prevalent among MAGA Republicans, as well as other folks who say they care deeply about the suffering of disabled military veterans—including ones whose injuries take the less-obvious form of PTSD.  When boom-bang addicts indulge their strange tastes, are they genuinely unaware of the triggering effects these explosions can have on those who have already endured too many horrific things in the service of their country?  Or that the sufferers are likely to include their own neighbors?

I think it’s time for neighborhood-explosion junkies to bring their actions into line with what they profess to be their deeper values.