Name: Dan Patrick’s coronavirus comments serve as inspiration for DC memorial
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Dan Patrick’s coronavirus comments serve as inspiration for DC memorial

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&nbsp;WASHINGTON — It is as remarkable as it is unexpected. A sea of white flags, one for each victim, that memorializes the more than 227,000 lives lost to the coronavirus in the U.S.The little white flags, the kind used as markers for landscaping, have transformed a rectangular green patch 2 miles from the Capitol into a kinetic art space that moves with the breeze.One flag for each life lost, decided Washington artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, who said the spark for the project came from an unexpected source: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick."When the Texas lieutenant governor suggested the elderly should be willing to risk their lives and die for the economy — that was horrifying to me," Firstenberg told the American-Statesman."It was just so ghastly to think that a public official would so devalue people," she said, sitting on a bench in the middle of her installation.In an interview on Fox News with Tucker Carlson in late March, Patrick said that he and other older adults were ready to risk dying in exchange for reopening the economy for their children and grandchildren."No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’ And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in," he said.Democrats condemned the sentiment, and public health officials noted that young people as well as older were falling ill and dying from the virus. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott went ahead with a monthlong stay-home order to slow the spread of the virus. (In the months since it was lifted and as Abbott relaxed restrictions on businesses, more than 17,000 Texans have lost their lives.)In a subsequent interview in April with Carlson, Patrick doubled down on his controversial comments and said he had been right."What I said when I was with you that night is there are more important things than living," Patrick said. "And that’s saving this country for my children and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us."‘I was aghast’Firstenberg, 61, who was a hospice volunteer for 25 years, remembers her reaction to Patrick’s remarks: "I was aghast. I couldn’t imagine sacrificing my mother for the economy." Firstenberg’s 86-year-old mother lives on her own in South Dakota.And from the first time she heard Patrick, Firstenberg, who is a sculptor, suddenly had a mission: "I knew immediately that I would use my art in some way."Messages left for Patrick seeking comment were not returned.An idea to use American flags wasn’t feasible in an election year because they are in high demand, so Firstenberg opted for the white landscaping and engineering flags, which cost less than 10 cents each.The result is a largely self-funded short-term public art project titled, "In America, how could this happen ..."The installation, which is in place from Oct. 23 to Friday, and has webcams for those unable to visit, is in front of the D.C. Armory, federal land that is leased to the District of Columbia government.At the entrance to the site, there is a billboard with the project’s title as well as the number of COVID-19 deaths in large numerals. It is changed daily to keep up with the toll of victims.Firstenberg, visitors and volunteers plant more flags each day representing the previous day’s death toll.A sea of flagsThere were only a handful of visitors on a recent afternoon, but Firstenberg, sporting a wide-brimmed red hat and wearing a mask, warmly greeted each one. All visitors are asked to wear a mask and to keep social distanced.Those working at the site say the weekends are bustling, and some visitors, especially those who have lost a loved one, cry at seeing the vista and will place a flag with a personal message."This is awesome. It has the serenity of Arlington Cemetery and the quirkiness of Christo," said Karen Elkin of Alexandria, Va., who stopped to visit while she was on a bicycle ride on a warm day. Arlington National Cemetery is the nation’s premier military cemetery, and Christo was an artist who, with his wife, created innovative environmental art installations.As word has spread about the installation, more people are coming. Nullie Stockton drove from her home in Great Falls, Va., to place a flag in honor of her stepmother who died of COVID-19 on Oct. 17 in Georgia. "I feel very sad there are so many flags," she said. Asked how she felt when she placed a flag herself, Stockton said, "I think solace, maybe."Firstenberg said she could not have done the project without the generous donation of design advice and 400 hours of installation help from Ruppert Landscaping, a Laytonsville, Md., firm with outlets in several states, including Texas.However, she gently refuses any monetary donations from visitors, suggesting they instead donate to celebrity chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen, which provides meals during natural disasters.Firstenberg’s concern now is whether she has enough flags. She bought 250,000 flags thinking that would be enough. But with the recent spike in deaths she wants to be sure to have a flag for all the victims.Passionate about the project from the start, she was unprepared for its impact. "I didn’t imagine the overwhelming emotion of it," she said.

&nbsp;WASHINGTON — It is as remarkable as it is unexpected. A sea of white flags, one for each victim, that memorializes the more than 227,000 lives lost to the coronavirus in the U.S.The little white flags, the kind used as markers for landscaping, have transformed a rectangular green patch 2 miles from the Capitol into a kinetic art space that moves with the breeze.One flag for each life lost, decided Washington artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, who said the spark for the project came from an unexpected source: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick."When the Texas lieutenant governor suggested the...

Dan Patrick’s coronavirus comments serve as inspiration for DC memorial

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