Letter to the Editor

I am a great advocate of trying to get one's point across via the written word and who knows, sometimes change a mind or two about the situation on which I write.

Every year lately we have our Fourth of July disrupted by rude neighbors who break the law by shooting off large amounts of fireworks that are far more than just firecrackers.

My local newspaper has been so kind as to print it:

Dear Editor,

Since your newspaper has been so courteous to print the letters I have written to you over the years, I am here again with another in the hopes that you have not forgotten my rather unpopular viewpoints and me; especially on the subject of Fourth of July fireworks shot off illegally by my neighbors.

For an hour now my neighbor has been in the street shooting off fireworks. Not just little firecrackers either, but some such as the town of Union shoots off in Biertempel Park. They are in the dark, with many very small children present, having a rocking good time doing something that is illegal.

There are reasons why fireworks are illegal in New Jersey. I would assume right off the bat that because they are dangerous is one of the top reasons for this law. Never mind whether we agree with it or not, if it is illegal we should not be doing it, or showing our children that it is okay to disregard the law if we think it is stupid, or if we don’t agree with it.

As I stood on my back porch along with some of my neighbors who I knew were on their back porches doing the same, I watched these fireworks go clear over some of our houses. Which brings to mind something that perhaps those who indulge in this criminal mischief may not have thought of, and that is: consideration.

The reason why many of us are doing this is because the possibility for fire or injury always exists when one is shooting off fireworks with trees and houses all around. Many of us had other things we would have rather been doing, and some of us were chased out of our yards because we feared the debris falling on us while we tried to enjoy the last night of our holiday weekend. Some of us had to sit and hold our pets that were completely disrupted by the explosions that went on for close to an hour. Tomorrow we, who have debris in our yards, pools, pool filters and on our decks from our neighbors fun time, will be cleaning up after a party we did not throw. And you can be sure that just like children, those who would scoff at the concerns many of us have regarding the danger of fire from these illegally set off fireworks, would point out that nothing has happened, so nothing is going to happen. How many of our children do that? Display dangerous behavior and assume that because they have not fallen or were otherwise injured by such behavior, that we, the parents who warned them, have no basis for our warnings and so our warnings of danger can be totally disregarded? This is the behavior exhibited by our adult neighbors when they insist on their annual violation of New Jersey state law and subsequent display of inconsideration for their neighbors.

You know what editor? I don’t ask that everyone like me, all I ask for is common courtesy and consideration. Something that I am willing to extend and do extend to my neighbors. Just because you don’t like me shouldn’t mean that you allow your child to throw rocks into my pool or if you pass me on the street you totally ignore me. That is inconsiderate, editor, and is exactly, all illegality aside, what these neighbors are for setting off these fireworks each Fourth of July.