Is the flag still at half-mast?

Is it currently lowered for the people who were at the Landing in Jacksonville? Or is it currently lowered for the innocent school students in South Florida? Or is the flag still lowered from the truck in Manhattan murdering harmless people on a bike path? Or was it raised only to be immediately lowered again for the massacre during a worship service in the church in Texas? Has it been down every day since Las Vegas? Or was it Ferguson? Maybe it was Sandy Hook? Or Blacksburg. Or Pulse in Orlando; Ft Hood, Ft Lauderdale, Minneapolis or since the Washington DC sniper? Maybe it has been lowered since 9/11. Surely the flag has been raised since then, hasn’t it? Columbine was in the spring of 1999; 20 years ago. Surely seniors in high school have seen it waving in the wind at least once. Haven’t they?

It has become common place. In fact, way too common place.

It has become a way of life.

We see the flag at half-staff so often that we fail to see it at all.

Seeing it lowered all the time breeds anger; it also breeds apathy. Have I become so numb because there is nothing, absolutely nothing, I think I can do? Do I even pay attention anymore? We gain a sense that there is very little we can do about terrorism or in regard to the political climate we live in. That sense of hopeless leads to looking the other way when the flag is still low.

Is it still at half-mast? Still?

Before you think this post is nothing more than a hopeless lament, keep reading. I sincerely have hope. However, my hope is not found in believing that God loves America more than any of those so called pagan countries. No, that is a prideful statement and pride will not direct us to hope. Nor do I find hope in more laws because simply demanding that Congress pass more laws will not change a thing. Laws do not change a heart. I am not for more protests or more fear baiting rhetoric. In the same vain, please don’t read this with the assumption that I think the answer is for more guns. I do not believe that if we arm every Tom, Dick or Dirty Harry with guns it will put an end to this bloodbath. So do we just give up? While I do not think my solution will stop these atrocities, I do believe it will give us something practical that we can do instead of just demanding that others do it for us. In doing something, hope remains within our grasp. It is in one couplet that was written during a time when the Romans were butchering people. In fact, it was written by a man who was in prison for his belief in Love. In the bowels of a jail that had inhuman living conditions, a man named Paul wrote:

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The following are three simple suggestions to combat evil and promote “good:”

1) Since several of the shooting took place in a school, express appreciation to teachers, administers and staff in practical manners. Take cookies, donuts, flowers or a handmade card. Let them know they are not alone.

2) Thank a Veteran. How can you know if someone is a Vet? Look if he or she has a license plate, bumper sticker or article of clothing that has military references and then simply ask. Take 5 minutes to hear the Vets story. Simply listen. Look for the twinkle in their eye. Tell them “Thank you.”

3) The next time you see a flag at half-mast, let someone know you love them. If you are old school like me, don’t just text them, tell them.

Is this the solution to the evil that persists in these massive shootings? Quite honestly no, it will not. However, making the demands we are currently making are making no improvements whatsoever. So this is a start. I agree, it is a small start, but it is a start. Evil will never overcome love. Never. Love will raise the flag to the finials. “Overcome evil with good!”