The government blew $16.4 million turning the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool green, then fenced off the National Mall to protect a fireworks show that sends a third of our pets running for their lives.
This is the image of the republic the founders feared: a government that treats its citizens as subjects, walling off public land for a curated spectacle while the ordinary American pays the price. The ruling class gets the view; you get a six-foot chain-link fence and a terrified dog.
According to the New York Times, tourists hoping to see the Reflecting Pool this weekend were met with a tall chain-link fence encircling the perimeter. The Interior Department claims the fence is a long-planned safety measure for the July 4 fireworks because the pool serves as a launchpad. But the lockdown follows a spectacular, $16.4 million taxpayer-funded flop. The Trump administration’s renovation was supposed to fix the filtration system and lay down a blue waterproof coating. Within days, the water turned bright green and the coating peeled off. The official excuse? President Trump insisted "unidentified vandals" were responsible for the slapstick failure.
Follow the money: $16.4 million wasted, and the immediate result is a green pool and a fence locking you out of your own land. The bureaucrats blame you—the public—for the mess, then use "safety" to pen you behind caution signs warning "DANGER EXPLOSIVES."
And what do the people get for this forced displacement? A fireworks display that turns our neighborhoods into war zones for our animals. As the New York Post reported, more pets go missing on the Fourth of July than any other day of the year. Animal shelters estimate a whopping 30% of dogs and cats will bolt from the fear of fireworks, and only 14% of those ever make it home. Vets warn of panic, heat stroke, and dogs swallowing barbecue skewers or discarded marijuana. In cities, the noise drives dogs to bolt off apartment rooftops—"high rise" cases that are often fatal.
The elites in Washington get their fireworks launchpad on the people's mall. The working class deals with the fallout: locked out of the capital, footing the bill for government incompetence, and sedating our pets just to survive the night.
The National Mall belongs to the American people, not the Interior Department. When the government wastes millions, blames the public, locks us out behind chain-link, and puts on a show that terrorizes our homes, it’s not a celebration of freedom—it’s a display of power.
