Independence Day celebrates our independence from Britain. As we're constantly reminded, many people fought—many of them in the vicinity of Boston—to give us this independence and the associated freedom. Just as this freedom came with (the bill of) rights, so too did it come with responsibilities. While you celebrate the anniversary of our independence this weekend, keep in mind that we should respect the rights of others even as we rejoice in having our own. Four accidents have occurred and eight people have died already today, perhaps due to excessive and irresponsible celebration of this important anniversary. We encourage you to make this Independence Day joyful, not tragic: keep your wits about you as much as you can, don't drink too much, don't drink at all if you're driving, buckle up, and try not to be—or cause—another tragedy today.
Results tagged “independenceday”
Every year, folks in Boston try to find alternatives to spending Independence Day on the Charles, amidst the crowds. There are many facets to the American experience and many different ways to celebrate the founding of our nation.
And what's more American than making fun of poor people?
Fireworks lit up the skies of Greater Boston last night. From our perch on the Mass. Ave. bridge, we saw four fireworks displays, including the grandest of them all, the Boston Pops extravaganza. (The other three appeared to be in Newton, Somerville(?), and South Boston.)
We've been discussing Independence Day alternatives mostly just for fun, but there are more serious reasons to consider alternative celebrations on this day. Though conditions have improved, our country has long been dominated by white men and their values. To celebrate an independence day that occurred years before slaves were freed and women could vote is to celebrate an independence that was not inclusive.
Our POTD person has the day off for her birthday (Happy birthday Korri!), so we're bringing you a gallery of Boston fireworks from years past in honor of the Fourth. Some of the images are actually from New Year's Eve fireworks, but they were so cool we couldn't exclude them! We hope to see many more fireworks pictures tagged Bostonist after this weekend.
What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. Being the nation's capital, DCist felt especially proud to let freedom ring this week by exposing the really important issues, like how sad they...
We're getting close, damn close, to the start of the Patriots regular season. Perhaps it will help us take the sting away from what's going on with the Sox lately. There will be some new music at Gillette Stadium for this season's home games. Every time the Pats score a touchdown they'll employ a little celebratory ditty. Right now, they're not sure what it's going to be. We're not quite sure if it's more ironic...
They've taken a field trip from the Improv Asylum to take to the streets of Downtown Crossing to find out how much an average passerby knows about the British. From bangers and mash to knocking up, from the Beatles to the Sun it seems there's little knowledge about the Brits walking around downtown Boston. We've seen much funnier – perhaps schilling for a contest to win airline tickets doesn't lend to the funny. Learning point:...
The gap week between the celebrations of America's Independence Day and upcoming France's Bastille Day, this is the perfect time to dabble in some French and American wine tasting history.
Bostonist decided to highlight some of the events that might interest you readers out there this holiday weekend:
Now that summer is officially here, Bostonist has decided to celebrate with a beer. We'd like to invite you out there to join us for a few drinks at the very first Bostonist Happy Hour next week. Stop by and say hello, give us feedback/ideas, and of course inform us of the grammatical errors you've come across on the site during our first few months. We might have to call into work sick Friday if you come out and give us good reason. We hope you will come out and kick off the Independence Day weekend right, on Thursday!