{"id":7951,"date":"2025-06-29T08:50:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=7951"},"modified":"2025-06-29T08:50:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:50:52","slug":"the-fourth-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2025\/06\/29\/the-fourth-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fourth \u2013 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pataskala<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Fourth of July hit early in Pataskala this year, almost a week early.\u00a0\u00a0Central Ohio\u2019s celebrations are driven by the big fireworks show downtown, \u201cRed, White and Boom\u201d, scheduled for Thursday July 3rd<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0So all of the smaller shows try to find a date other than that one, and the City of Pataskala chose Saturday, June 28th<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, here in Pataskala, it\u2019s more than just the fireworks.\u00a0\u00a0Mayor Compton made this his signature event \u2013 and he does a great job.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s an entire community \u201cfestival\u201d built around \u201cthe Fourth\u201d, with music, a car show, vendors and street food.\u00a0\u00a0And it\u2019s on a Saturday because we live in Ohio, and the weather is completely unpredictable.\u00a0\u00a0So if there’s thunder storms all Saturday afternoon, Pataskala moves to Sunday. This year, we did (have the storms and move the date), and then we moved it back. Fireworks went off Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town\u2019s fireworks are pretty good.\u00a0\u00a0And the guy who lives across the street from Foundation Park where the festival is held, puts on almost as good a show on his own, before the \u201cmain attraction\u201d begins.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s done it for years, even when setting off private fireworks was illegal.\u00a0\u00a0But, here in Pataskala, the police didn\u2019t care about \u201cfireworks\u201d folks anyway.\u00a0\u00a0And now, it\u2019s completely legal to fire off pretty much anything, anytime.\u00a0\u00a0So the \u201cFourth of July\u201d started last Friday, and you can be sure there will be random shows from now until long after the Fifth!!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dogs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jenn and I used to go to a friends\u2019 house to watch both the official and \u201cacross the street\u201d fireworks shows. But, with four dogs, and living within a mile of the Park, it\u2019s safer to hang out at home.  Atticus (our Lab) doesn\u2019t seem to mind, but Keelie (our Aussie) completely freaks out to booms, and Lou (he\u2019s part dog, part deer) gets very uneasy.  CeCe (our Baby Yoda) takes her cues from them; so being close by is just a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, lots of folks walk down our street to get a \u201cview\u201d, and that sets the dogs off almost as much as the \u201cBOOMS\u201d. We see a lot of the show from our own backyard anyway; even more now since \u201cstraight line wind\u201d came through the neighbor\u2019s yard couple years ago and took out some big trees.\u00a0\u00a0And,\u00a0when CeCe and Lou went into full panics: we were right there to calm things down. We watched three incredibly violent movies on TV. They don’t mind those “booms”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patriotism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I have always been a \u201cpatriotic\u201d guy.  Part of that is my Boy Scout training, learning the Flag Code and the history.  It\u2019s hard not to feel patriotic hiking through the mountains along the trails of the Civil War, or visiting our Nation\u2019s landmarks from \u201csea to shining sea\u201d.  And I am a \u201cBoomer\u201d.  My parents both fought in World War II.  They knew exactly what our Democracy was worth, and they were well aware of the high price  paid by those who defended it.  Celebrating the Fourth, even for my British citizen Mom, was important. (For a series of essays about the Fourth of July \u2013 see the list at the end<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a “Resistance” group trying to use the Fourth of July as an opportunity to express disapproval of the current US government.\u00a0\u00a0They are calling on folks to boycott the Fourth, to make that point.\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t agree. It\u2019s kind of like folks who don\u2019t fly the American flag now, seeing it as a symbol of oppression, not freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Flag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not giving either the Flag or the Fourth away to any “side\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0To me, they represent the hope of a future America; not based on cruelty, but kindness; that doesn’t oppress, but lifts people up; that doesn’t exclude those who are different, but includes all. I didn’t attend the Pataskala fireworks last night, but it isn\u2019t because of my incredible disappointment in America today.\u00a0\u00a0Those fireworks, seen from afar over the backyard fence, represent my hope that our country can be so much better than we demonstrate right now.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s my Fourth, and my Flag, just as much as any other American’s. It’s even for non-citizens; here to live the American dream, like Mom did.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m tempted to adapt Charlton Heston’s NRA speech quote, \u201cI\u2019ll give you my Flag when you pry it from my cold, dead hands<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is still hope.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Serpent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This current abomination of American belief is part of the \u201cdirty underside\u201d of our history.\u00a0\u00a0It’s always been there. As author John Jay Chapman described it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There was never any moment in our history when slavery was not a sleeping serpent. It lay coiled up under the table during deliberations of the Constitutional Convention.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any snake, this serpent may have shed its skin, but snake it still remains.\u00a0\u00a0We aren\u2019t talking about the enslaved today. But we are still dealing with race and color, and those who do the manual labor to keep our Nation alive.\u00a0\u00a0The United States is\u00a0<\/strong>denying our fellow humans the right to a decent and humane life.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a part of our history.\u00a0\u00a0Today’s national dilemma is as old as the Fourth of July itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So celebrate what America should be this Fourth of July week, not what it is today.  Take the Flag, take the Fourth, and march with it proudly.  It is ours, not the oppressors.  America shows its ugliness now, but the \u201cshining city on the hill\u201d still can be achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Whose Flag? Our Flag!” “Whose Fourth? Our Fourth!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy it:  and keep your dogs inside for the fireworks!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n