Wave of Flags

As an Independent voter, I am supporting Barack Obama. I believe he is the one presidential candidate, who can restore some semblance of decency & diplomacy for America, where it is viewed often with disdain from foreign countries around the world. Barack Obama inhabits the intellectual capacity & universal wherewithal to change the less than positive global opinion of America. In any event, my husband shot this super short video a month ago of our son, age 4 & daughter, age 2, who are running through row upon row of American flags blowing in the wind on an open grassy field of Pepperdine University, chanting "Obama". What was so poignant to me about this video was the fact that this installation of flags was erected in commemoration of 9/11, the prelude to the Iraq War. To my knowledge, Barack Obama was the only presidential nominee, who openly spoke about his opposition against the Iraq War. Shortly before our children began chanting "Obama", my husband & I were talking about the political climate in this country & how this is one of the most intriguing elections of our era. Politically, socially & financially, it is truly a very curious time in America. Our children are present during most of our political discussions at home as they are quite familiar with the name "Obama", as well as "McCain". This video documentation was an impromptu moment. However, it may appear as if my husband & I were "plugging" our kids for some sort of advertisement. "Obama" rhyming with "Mama", a title my children address me by, flows very easily off their tongues. They have said his name in succession on a whim a few times before, but not quite so enthusiastically as in the video, especially amid the spectacular background of flags. While watching our kids run with care-free & joy through the marshy lawn of implanted flags of stars & stripes, the words "hope & change" came to mind; the very notion Obama continues to stand for. In addition, my children, like Obama, bear the same multi-ethnic background, which is ever more apparent in America today. A perfect example of the United States' ever-expanding cultural & ethnic landscape was visible in the recent 2008 Olympics where America was represented by athlete competitors from all over the world. As a resident of Malibu, California, I had the pleasure of seeing this beautiful display of American flags for a week. Viewing them from different angles evoked several emotions. Up close, when the wind was blowing, it looked like one huge quilt of sown American flags, showing a solidarity of united states...oh, wishful thinking! From an aerial view, it looked like soldiers marching in unison. From afar, it very much resembled a grave site, as the shadows caste down from the flags representing headstones, perhaps to also indicate the growing number of casualties of the Iraq War - a haste & wrongful decision by President Bush in response to 9/11. On a personal level, it was particularly painful as my husband & I lived across from the World Trade Center prior to its collapse. We knew three individuals, who perished on September 11, 2001. We exited New York in November of 2001 while the remains of the towers were still smoldering & relocated to Los Angeles. As a fellow New Yorker, I felt I was "abandoning ship" but was sympathetic to my husband's need to start anew. Interestingly, the project "Wave of Flags" was created by Ryan Sawtelle, College Republican Leader of Pepperdine University. All nearly 3,000 American flags on 10-foot poles symbolized each life lost on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was an effort to remind all that horrifying day of occurences should never be forgotten.

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YouTube | October 13, 2008

Tags:. .YouTube. .against. .presidential. .month. .children