Apparently, not everyone loves a parade, at least not in Santa Monica.

Fourth of July festivities have come and gone, but you may not have been aware if you were somewhere else in Santa Monica other than the beach. By Wednesday morning, it was evident that some sort of party was going on since the sand was littered with firework remnants, beer bottles and other garbage.

For one reason or another, Santa Monica has no organized Independence Day events. How unpatriotic. No parade? No community picnic? No art show or street festival? No 10K runs?

We understand why the fireworks display was canned — the crowds were too unruly and the police couldn’t adequately protect the public as a result. It was an issue in the 1980s when the police chief, at the time, urged the City Council to dust the fireworks display.

The idea of canceling the fireworks, which had been a 25-year tradition, surfaced in 1982. At the time, an aggressive radio promotion by K-EARTH, which broadcast timed music in unison with the fireworks, was blamed for attracting the masses to Santa Monica. The results, officials said, were massive traffic jams from the throngs descending upon the beach.

Needless to say, it caused a serious public safety problem,, and the police agreed that advertising our fireworks display would bring “undesirables” to the city.

Officials realized they couldn’t place the burden completely on the radio station, and a few years later, they banned the nighttime pyrotechnics for good. Shootings, stabbings, assaults and other unruly behavior from the estimated 500,000 people who squeezed onto the beach was enough for city and police officials to say the party is over.

Then they came up with “Dawn’s Early Light,” which was fireworks at 5 a.m. on the Fourth of July as a means of avoiding the usual chaos. But the experiment was short-lived.

When the fireworks were finally canceled forever, then City Manager John Jalili said staff would look at other options for city-sponsored activities for the Fourth that did not include fireworks.

Well, where are they?

At one time, the Santa Monica Department of Parks and Recreation sponsored a series of free picnic games, including a tug-o-war, gunny sack races and watermelon-eating contests in various parks throughout the city.

What’s the harm in good old-fashioned fun?

Apparently, there used to be a small parade as well — with the theme of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But at some point, that fell off too. The 10K run? Finished.

For a city as vibrant, progressive and celebratory of our freedom as we claim to be, how can we not have some sort of organized community events centered around Independence Day? We should be coming together to celebrate America’s birthday, not leaving our own community in pursuit of festivities. Pacific Palisades has a parade and fireworks. Marina del Rey has fireworks. Dozens more surrounding Santa Monica have similar events. Thousands of communities across the country celebrate their freedoms together, but not Santa Monica.

Of course, there is Celebrate America — the fireworks and community party at Santa Monica College. But it’s held on the Saturday prior to July 4. That doesn’t make much sense.

Judging from the riff-raff and gang bangers seen at the beach this past weekend, we can fully understand how a fireworks display would cause serious concerns for public safety, not to mention the unbearable traffic, crowds and litter that would ensue as a result.

But we don’t think having a city-sponsored community party and other events would attract the “undesirables” that city officials are so worried about.

There has been some discussion from the Ocean Park Association, a neighborhood group that represents the residential areas east and west of Main Street, to get a parade going for next year.

We encourage that group to pursue that idea full throttle and hope that City Hall gets behind them.