We experienced the splendiferous July Fourth fireworks show in San Jose for the second time yesterday. New fireworks included fat, shimmering snakes that coil into tight spirals then spin in place; swarms of tiny firefly sparks that hover, buzzing; long stems of light reaching up from the ground, sometimes ending as spikes, sometimes unfolding petals; and huge chrysanthemum fireworks from which the lit ray-ends shoot off in random directions, like an alien space fleet. There were also shimmering golden waterfalls, roiling sky-lakes, crackles, whistles, and booms, circles, Saturns, and smileys.

I am almost soothed watching the many fireworks that explode or unfold into organic shapes, alien space fleets notwithstanding.

Speaking of space fleets, the armed services anthems were among the mostly martial musical accompaniment. Between that and the “rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air”, I have always associated fireworks displays with ordnance, but Wikipedia says they were invented in China in the 9th century for entertainment and celebration.

That works for us, but lots of people, together with their pets, despise fireworks, especially here in Santa Cruz.*  Yesterday in the US there were plenty of firework-related injuries and some deaths, even at official events. Everyone who watches fireworks is in some small way taking a risk.

Life is a risky business.

Which America are we celebrating anyway? For me, always the one whose laws echo international law, welcoming asylum seekers from the world over, and whose citizens take to the street to protest official thugs tearing or sneaking tiny children from their at-most-misdemeanor-committing parents. Definitely not the Amerika that rewards bold people who save their families from violence and death threats by risking all in a dangerous journey by putting these best and brightest into internment camps for families, after denying them a chance at legal asylum.

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* Even in San Jose, the crowd was only in the thousands, though there were tens of thousands in San Francisco, and of course hundreds of thousands in Boston, where we acquired our fireworks addiction.