The images are captured and flashed across the world through
various sources of news media, visually telling the story of disaster and tragedy
that words alone will not and cannot describe of the devastation that seems too
often beyond human imagination. Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes
are the ugly reminders that we have no control over the natural world; we only
walk upon this land our great nation is built upon. In a few moments, evidence
of human existence is reduced to ashes or rubble. Our homes, our towns, our places
in the world seem to no longer exist. Who are we, where are we, what now?
There is an answer to those questions found in the imagery
of these natural disasters. A common theme that ties each of these people
together and provides a simple answer to the questions of who they are, where
they are, and above all else provides a symbol of hope to the question of what
now. Time after time, out of the ashes and rubble appears a consistent symbol
that truly binds us with each other in community, in country, and in our place
on the planet. They are the American Flags that fly after the storm. Storm
flags, so tattered that they are barely recognizable but to those looking for
something, anything of the familiar. They are rescued and resurrected for all
to see, marking our place once again upon the land.
A patriotic symbol of a great nation is a given; however, during
these dire circumstances it seems this symbols is used more like the warm
comfort of a familiar blanket found in an unfamiliar landscape. Like the Charles
Schulz character “Linus” in the “Peanuts” comic strips, it seems to be our
security blanket when all seems lost and dark. It reaffirms who we are as Americans,
it tells us where we are, and most of all it gives us the eternal hope as Americans
whom survive these disasters, and can again move forward as a nation. ~ Ron Goode
