Hey, this is an interesting idea but has a lot of obstacles, many of which Mario stated below/above. I'm most interested in figuring out what exactly would we expect the beacon to represent and its associations. For example, Mario stated that it would inspire "hope" in a time of "fear and despair." First, what do we mean by "fear and despair" in our current times- economically, politically, societally, environmentally, and/or militaristically? One could argue that politically and societally things have gotten better with the ousting of Bush and the inauguration of the Obama administration. Regarding our feeling of national/domestic safety, we also haven't had a war or another terrorist attack since 2001 and the small towns that Mario is referring to may not be the best candidates for such an attack. Therefore, I would argue that the "fear and despair" is most associated with the current catastrophically depressed economic climate that we are in with the lost jobs, foreclosures, etc and the precarious state of the environment.

But, if this is the case, does a beam of light really do much to relieve people's economic and/or environmental feelings of fear and despair? If so, how would it do that? It would have to be symbolic because, day to day, it doesn't really make a tangible impact on or improvement to people's lives. One could argue that this beacon of hope has ties to Christian spirituality (i.e. God) but do we really want it to take on such a strong religious bent? And, what else might the beam of light remind people of? I, for one, am reminded of Batman's call signal and those moving club lights that are projected into sky at night. We'd have to be really careful to avoid these associations because they take away from the intentions of the project.

I don't mean to be so skeptical (although that is probably my nature). In order for this proceed, I really think we need to develop the idea more conceptually. In theory, it sounds interesting but, in practicality, it may be wrought with a lot of pitfalls that need to be worked out and/or avoided.