The flag bows at half mast…

The flag has been at half mast since the last mass shooting…or maybe the one before
It’s hard to remember since they come in such quick succession now
In fact the flag has been flying low for months as though the entire country is hanging its head in grief, or shame…or disbelief
And we have barely noticed it, not because we are unaware of the death but because the dying is so much that we have become used to it
As though our flag always flew at 1/2 it’s potential…maybe we thought it more accurately reflects our country’s mediocrity
At first I thought it was flying low for Laquan, or Jamar, or Mario, or anyone of the 1000+ suns of this nation killed by police this year
Or for those used as collateral in the perpetual war that will not be won until we have drunk every drop of fuel left beneath the surface
Or for those killed in the latest mega storm to hit an undeserving nation who has nothing to trade by way of carbon
Truth is, I have no idea why the flag is at half mast. That is to say I’m not sure when it can ever be at full mast again
And what response is this by a nation with so much blood on its hands?
I imagine every stripe has been dyed with the blood of those who have been killed as a sacrifice to the god we call money
In that superstitious cult of capitalism makes us all both captive and culprit, caught and complicit