Fireworks are traditionally associated with celebrating the Fourth of July. However, the law in some places is that fireworks can only be used by designated organizations, like municipal governments.
This state, Illinois, is one of those where shooting off and even possession of fireworks by individuals is illegal. (As to the reasons for such a law: Yes, it might be a case of the government trying to protect you and your children from your own poor judgment; but also, your fireworks might set your neighbor's roof on fire. It does happen.)
However, this illegality does not stop an awful lot of people. In this area, it's easy to drive to the next state and purchase fireworks, and then bring them home and shoot them off in your back yard, in front of your house (which might seem a bit more of a flagrant violation of the law), etc. The law seems to be very laxly enforced.
I suspect that many people consider it their God-given right to celebrate the Fourth of July with their own fireworks. Here, fireworks are going off right now and it's not even noon. And fireworks were going off last night and even the previous day—neither of which, of course, was the Fourth of July.
This made me reflect on who considers what to be their right.
Conservatives consider the following, among others, to be their right:
- To cheat other people by means of financial chicanery (if you are a Wall Street firm) or to deceive the public with false advertising, false product labeling, etc. (if you are a manufacturer).
- To not pay their fair share of taxes.
- To pollute or otherwise destroy the environment (again this applies to corporate entities).
- To own a gun.
- To drive as fast as they like, and without wearing seat belts.
- To impose their own religious and moral notions on others by banning books, forbidding mosques being built, banning abortion, and denying equal rights to gay people.
And here are some rights that many progressives ("liberals," if you will, although conservatives use the term as if it were a dirty word) feel they have, or should have:
- To be free from government spying.
- To have an abortion.
- To marry one's partner of the same sex.
- To be free from government-sponsored or –supported religious exercises.
- To read whatever they want.
Now I ask you, which group of rights causes more harm to the general welfare?
Copyright © 2011 by Richard Stein
