This Is The Tradition

This past Thursday, we celebrated the 4th of July: Independence Day. We wore our red, white, and blue. We barbecued with our friends and families. And we watched a glorious display of fireworks.

This is the tradition.

I’ve always enjoyed this holiday. I’m fascinated with fireworks. I lay down with my back on the grass, looking straight up at the sky. Fireworks? No. I pretend that I am watching the Universe unfold. With each beautiful explosion, I imagine the birth of a galaxy.

It’s easy to forget that the Earth is just a ball of life floating in the middle of infinite nothingness. But with that in mind, it’s hard not to wonder what it all means.

We’re celebrating the birth of our nation: The United States of America.  But what is a nation in the context of the Universe? When I think about how we’re just one small dot on a galactic map, I can’t help but to think that we should all be on Team Earth.

Look at a picture of the Earth from outer space. You will not see lines that divide the countries. Those lines are imaginary. The lines that divide us exist only in our minds. We are one people. We are one race. We are the human race. And we are all sharing the experience of life on this planet together. Right now.

The people of the Earth have been at war with one another for thousands of years. We have yet to realize that the ultimate potential of humanity is to achieve peace and unity. If we were to achieve peace, we could re-allocate the billions of dollars that are spent on weapons and ammunitions to improving food and medicine. We could fund alternative energy research that would free us from the oil dependencies that have dragged us into far too many wars.

It’s a lot to think about. I go back to watching the fireworks. I record a video on my iphone so that I can cherish the memory. For a second, I wonder if God recorded the Big Bang on his iphone. I sit up and look around me. People are enjoying themselves, laughing, eating, dancing, talking, watching. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one contemplating the Universe.

Most of the people around me are drinking and/or drunk. I pray that they’ve contemplated a sober ride home. Independence day doesn’t grant people the freedom to drink and drive. Yet many seem to think it does:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)—which has been tracking car crash statistics for a quarter of a century—Fourth of July almost always tops the list as the deadliest weekend on our nation’s highways.

- FoxNews.com

Growing up, I was taught that drinking and driving is right up there with murder on the list of things people shouldn’t do. Apparently, not everyone was taught that way. I’m not sure what to say to people that think it’s okay to drink and drive.

I saw an article on an Esurance blog explaining how, “ A DUI can triple your car insurance premium for as long as 5 years.” The article urges people not to drive drunk by reminding them of the insurance costs of drunk driving. It’s a good angle. It will convince some people, but the hardest thing to do is to talk a person out of the mindset: “I know that happens to other people, but it isn’t going to happen to me.”

I try not to think of the worst. For the rest of the night, I focus on having a good time. As the night comes to a close, I ask my friend for a ride home. I’m not drunk, but I’ve had a few beers. He hasn’t touched an alcoholic beverage the entire night. As we leave, we see another friend stumbling to his car. He’s had more than a few beers. “Come on man,” we say to him, “Hop in the back. You can get your car in the morning.” He argues that he’s “okay to drive,” but ultimately, we convince him to come with us.

Who knows? Maybe he would have made it home fine. Maybe not.

But when, “Every 53 minutes on average, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash (9,878 people in total in 2011),” and “ Every 90 seconds, someone is injured because of this entirely preventable crime (Madd.org),” I don’t think it’s wise to take the chance.  

We make it home safely. As I lay in bed, I think about the statistics. I think about all of the people we couldn’t give a ride home. It makes me shudder. But that’s no way to think. We did what we could and we kept a drunk driver off the road. We must continue to help where we can and hope that the example will spread. As I fall asleep, I say a prayer.

I pray for every single soul on this Earth to experience peace, love, light, and bliss.

God bless America? No. God bless each and every one of us. 

God bless Earth.

Amen.