On this year’s Fourth of July, some Americans are deciding not to celebrate the Fourth across the United States. Their decision comes after the BLM protests in 2020, which happened after the death of a black man named George Floyd. He died after a white police officer pinned him down and restricted his windpipe.
Malaya Tapp, an 18-year-old entering college next year, thinks a lot of the ways we celebrate Fourth of July are unsafe and unclean for the environment. Fireworks are one example. “It’s hard to tell the difference between guns and fireworks, and here there is always something on the news about a shooting or something, so it makes me nervous. They are also bad for the environment. They release a lot of toxic chemicals,” she said.
Conner Miskowiec, a content creator in Phoenix, Arizona, started a video series asking people if they were celebrating Independence Day. He got a lot of mixed results. Some people said, “America is the greatest country in the world, and we have to celebrate the American dream.” While others said, “This country has a lot to work on, and America isn’t so free, and I don’t feel like celebrating.”
Miskoweic posted these videos on Instagram and TikTok, where his videos got thousands of comments. Miskoweic said, “A lot of people were like, ‘Why would you ask such a question because it seemed like a ‘duh’ thing,’ but I was like, ‘Watch the videos and you will see.’”
Trapp understands if some people find it difficult to stop celebrating the Fourth. “I know a lot of people who feel they have to partake in all the events, and they have to show their patriotism just to fit in or not have people get mad at them. A lot of people get really defensive when you say you don’t want to celebrate the Fourth of July because they think you don’t care about soldiers who died or all the things that went into making this country,” she said.
However, Issac Norbe, a marketer in Seattle, thinks that the Fourth is a way of celebrating not just a holiday, but the entire country. “It’s about celebrating everyone in the country, and it should be for everyone,” he said.
Malaya Tapp, an 18-year-old entering college next year, thinks a lot of the ways we celebrate Fourth of July are unsafe and unclean for the environment. Fireworks are one example. “It’s hard to tell the difference between guns and fireworks, and here there is always something on the news about a shooting or something, so it makes me nervous. They are also bad for the environment. They release a lot of toxic chemicals,” she said.
Conner Miskowiec, a content creator in Phoenix, Arizona, started a video series asking people if they were celebrating Independence Day. He got a lot of mixed results. Some people said, “America is the greatest country in the world, and we have to celebrate the American dream.” While others said, “This country has a lot to work on, and America isn’t so free, and I don’t feel like celebrating.”
Miskoweic posted these videos on Instagram and TikTok, where his videos got thousands of comments. Miskoweic said, “A lot of people were like, ‘Why would you ask such a question because it seemed like a ‘duh’ thing,’ but I was like, ‘Watch the videos and you will see.’”
Trapp understands if some people find it difficult to stop celebrating the Fourth. “I know a lot of people who feel they have to partake in all the events, and they have to show their patriotism just to fit in or not have people get mad at them. A lot of people get really defensive when you say you don’t want to celebrate the Fourth of July because they think you don’t care about soldiers who died or all the things that went into making this country,” she said.
However, Issac Norbe, a marketer in Seattle, thinks that the Fourth is a way of celebrating not just a holiday, but the entire country. “It’s about celebrating everyone in the country, and it should be for everyone,” he said.