The downtown Los Angeles celebration of Independence Day is one of many where fireworks have been replaced with drones for “environmental” reasons.

Swapping fireworks for drones is supposedly meant to improve air quality, even though the actual impact of a fireworks show on air quality is minimal.

And then there is the usual language about ‘inclusivity’.

“They’re so much more inclusive to everyone,” said Lynze Twede, an events manager for Salt Lake City Public Lands, in an interview with local news outlet Fox 13.

Fireworks can be harmful to “folks who suffer from PTSD or families who have dogs,” she said, adding: “Salt Lake City has more households with dogs than we do with kids.”

Even the Fourth can’t go without victimhood.

Fireworks have always been an Independence Day tradition. In 1777, celebrations included, “13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks.” In 1779, Congress was holding a celebration that included “music, thirteen toasts, and an impressive display of fireworks”.

The Star-Spangled Banner with the ‘rockets red glare’ made a natural fit with fireworks.

All of that history and tradition does not matter at all to leftists. Eliminating it under one pretext or another is their imperative.

A fireworks display comes with a lot of tradition and history. Replacing it with a drone show or a laser show makes it easier to then replace that with something else.