Storm Flags

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