Harren letter: Fireworks

Fireworks don’t start fires, people do. Why should the many be penalized for the actions of a few bad apples? I express my patriotism by blowing things up on July Fourth. Sure, there’s some ancillary damage, a few thousand acres burned here, houses lost there, but my constitutional right to pursue happiness comes first, and exploding fireworks make me happy.

First they outlaw your bottle rockets, and next they’ll want your assault rifle. Sure, you can take my fireworks, when you pry them loose from my charred, blown-off fingers.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Harren letter: Fireworks."