Neither Safe Nor Sane – Opinions From E. Curtis Johnson

As a kid, in Northwestern Montana, I went through firecrackers on Independence Day like Congress goes through money and Taylor Swift goes through boy friends. Then, like many communities, my hometown banned firecrackers and succumbed to political correctness and the wet fuse mentality of trying to protect us from ourselves. This past Independence Day weekend, I was not among the many people in my neighborhood lighting illegal firecrackers, but I wish I were.

I’m nostalgic for the era when we didn’t fear toys like firecrackers and lawn darts. Will one day we also ban Lego’s because someone stepped on one in the dark and hurt their foot? Laws that ban inanimate objects are dangerous and delusional, not safe and sane. A firecracker is only as dangerous as the person using it. Let’s get to the root of the problem and just outlaw people!

I’m E. Curtis Johnson. You can have my firecrackers when you pry them from my cold dead fingers – which may be missing a couple digits.