Like the flag, our nation feels stuck at half staff

The flag is meant to represent who we are as a people, and right now we have been cut down to size.

We have been cut down to size by an attack from a U.S. citizen who was inspired by a foreign terror group to kill fellow Americans.

We have been cut down to size because he specifically chose to target gay, lesbian and transgender people who simply want to be treated equally and left alone.

We have been cut down to size by the reality that violent people are easily obtaining military-grade weapons and there seems to be little we can do to stop it.

We have been cut down to size because we are the only nation in the world where this type of violence with gun happens regularly.

We have been cut down to size because when we heard there were 20 people killed at a nightclub, we were not that shocked. If the toll had stayed at 20, it would not even have cracked the top 5 for deadliest gun attacks.

We have been cut down to size because as tragic as the 49 deaths in Orlando were, Chicago is averaging 51 homicides per month.

We have been cut down to size because as people cry out for gun control, we know places like Chicago already have strict gun-control laws and the homicides still occur.

We have been cut down to size because we know guns come into Chicago from other places, but our leaders can’t have a debate about the complexity of gun violence because the NRA effectively forbids it.

We have been cut down to size because we know that guns don’t do the killing, people with guns do. But we know that the gun is what gives the person so much power to kill and inflict injuries.

We continue to believe that our flag represents a great nation that is based on the noble ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We know that this nation has persevered through dark periods before, and are disheartened that in this particular time of trial we seem to lack the unity and civic spirit to move forward. Instead we shout and scream at each other in person and over the Internet, too often looking for and expecting the worst of each other. Most of our political leaders are even worse.

The U.S. flag is suppose to remain at half staff until it is retired Thursday at sunset. When it is raised high Friday morning to the top of the mast, it will represent the noble nation we aspire to be.

Somewhere, someone will sing “o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Those are noble words -- they are our sacred anthem, our calling. The words are suppose to define us a people. They call us to aim high.

On this Flag Day 2016, the stars and stripes was midway the pole, waving sadly, stuck in place and not reaching its potential heights.

The perfect symbol, we fear, for where our nation is at this moment in history.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20160615/ARTICLES/160619827/1108/editorial?p=1&tc=pg