Where My Nose Begins

As we were cringing our way through an entire hour of neighbors shooting off fireworks over our house last weekend, I was reminded of a saying my mom espoused.

 

It was something to the effect that your freedom to swing your elbow is limited by the proximity of the other guy’s nose.

 

This phrase came to mind the following morning, when I ventured out and discovered bits of paper and plastic strewn across my lawn and my roof, with the added bonus of a layer of sulfur and shards of paper covering my car. 

 

Fortunately, this was annoying and not permanent. We only lost an hour of our lives gritting our teeth with every boom. My cat eventually came out of hiding. 

 

But I couldn't help wondering about others, for whom fireworks are a positive terror. Veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, for example. (I always thought it was odd that the same patriots who hail our military members as heroes are dismissive of veterans who suffer from this debilitating condition.)

 

My neighborhood Facebook group was split between those who loathe fireworks and those who love them. The latter group insists it is their patriotic right to enjoy fireworks, anywhere and anytime, and those of us who don't enjoy them are just old spoil sports who are trying to take away their freedom. (To be clear, I don't think anyone was advocating for no fireworks at all, just for confining them to the actual Fourth of July.)

 

The elbow-nose quote can't be definitively attributed to any one source. It's a universal truth that has never been more true than in this country's current bizarre environment, where wearing a mask is seen as a threat to freedom. The only freedom I can perceive we are trying to curtail is people's freedom to infect everyone around them.

 

I can only shake my head.

 

My mom taught us to be good citizens. Treat others as you'd like to be treated. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Be kind to animals. 

 

And make sure that, in pursuit of your kicks, you keep your elbow away from the other guy's nose.