Happy 4^th of July, RedStaters!

It’s certainly a much happier time for Los Angeles residents than it was in 2020, thankfully. The Golden State, like many other places, was gripped by COVID hysteria and locked down by hysterical health officials and government authorities. People drove around in their cars by themselves with masks on—fending off catching the Wuhan Flu from invisible people, presumably—parks and beaches were closed, folks were terrified of one another, and many schools were shuttered for a full year and a half.

To this day, many people who didn’t live in places like California don’t quite understand the true insanity of what we endured.

For Independence Day in ’20, firework displays were canceled and we were told to stay home and “socially isolate.” Proving, however, that despite all the woke freaks, COVID zealots, and fireworks Karens, there are still many awesome folks here, the LA skyline exploded in color and celebration as thousands of residents took matters into their own hands and basically told the authorities what to do with it.

Watch:

My neighborhood sounded like a war zone, but you know what? I didn’t mind. To many like myself who they’d tried to beat down into submission, we were flabbergasted to see that there were indeed many defiant folks out there and that they were willing to show it. That plus, of course, their love for this country.

“Nuck Fewsom!” many cried, referring to the far-left governor who dined at fancy restaurants and sent his kids to camps that didn’t require masks while many of us plebes suffered:

We rightfully think of the Spirit of 1776 today but let's not forget the Spirit of 2020 in LA, when #4thofjuly fireworks shows were all canceled yet the skies were lit up for hours as people from every background said "Nuck Fewsom!" https://t.co/gLNrwv1aED

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) July 4, 2023

It’s hard to describe just how spectacular the hours-long, amateur impromptu display was because while the videos are great, they can’t quite capture the feelings of hope and freedom the evening brought.

Of course, this show of defiance was not appreciated by state officials, who complained that the displays worsened air quality for the holiday:

Southern California’s air quality this Fourth of July was the worst the holiday weekend has seen in over a decade due to a preponderance of bootleg fireworks and unfavorable weather, officials said Wednesday.

For me personally, I would trade an evening of reduced air quality for a taste of freedom and pushback against those who wanted to be our overlords. Why would I care about the air quality anyway, when I was being told I couldn’t leave my house, visit the park or go to the beach?

“I mean, that looks like it was CGI’d or something, one commentator wrote about the viral videos. “But nope, it was real and it was spectacular.”

“It was illegal, too, but whatever, he added. “It’s the 4th of July and we’ve been through some stuff the past four months or so.” Understatement of the year.

Sadly, there weren’t enough defiant folks to succeed in recalling Newsom in 2021, and he won reelection in 2022. (I’d say “amazingly won,” but it’s not that amazing, seeing as many Democrats seem to get rewarded the more they fail.) I’m not saying California’s fixed—it’s anything but—yet that one night of rebellion was a beautiful thing to witness.

Now it’s time to go see some fireworks.