By: Phoebe Huang

July 4th was a bad night for some, like those whose neighbors set off fireworks all night. Phoebe, an 11-year-old entering 6th grade next year, was irritated the entire night and had difficulties sleeping. Animals struggled throughout the night, too. Phoebe’s cats, who were easily fazed by loud sounds, meowed worriedly the entire night.

The Fourth of July used to be a fun holiday for Phoebe. Her family would go out a few nights before July 4th and return on July 3rd. Then, they would have an eventful family evening on July 4th, where they would enjoy watching movies. But now that gun violence has grown frequent, Phoebe was a bit worried on the night of July 4th this year. She would constantly have intrusive thoughts that said, “What if those are gunshots? What if an armed murderer is taking advantage of July 4th, or blending the sound of guns with fireworks? What if we’re next?” Even though these thoughts seemed highly unlikely, they could happen. Like they did for Phoebe, these thoughts can dampen the general mood of the public.

For those who joined the Independence Day parade, they didn’t feel the energy that was supposed to be carried out. “Expectations are high, and they are usually not met,” said Allison Bartella, 30, a publicist in Brooklyn who is finally saying no to a holiday she never loved. “The food is always sitting out in the sun, and it’s hot, and you are getting scared by random fireworks in the street, and it just doesn’t turn out how you want it to be,” she continued. Many may be offended by this, but it’s been found that only 56 percent of adults wanted to participate in the festivities this year, according to a survey done by YouGov.

Conner Miskowiec, 28, a content creator in Phoenix, Arizona, decided to film a video series in which he asked strangers if they were going to celebrate Independence Day.

“I got everything from, ‘America is the greatest country in the world, and we have to celebrate the American dream,’ to ‘This country has a lot to work on, and America isn’t so free, and I don’t feel like celebrating,’” he said. “I honestly didn’t expect to get the variety of answers I got.”

“I think a lot of people think America isn’t for everyone anymore, and so it’s not an inclusive holiday,” he continued.

When he posted this, some of his viewers questioned why he even asked. The obvious unanimous answer them seemed like a “duh”. But the results were not what people expected.

July 4th is now a controversial holiday, and must decide if we as a country are going to celebrate it.