For two days in a row, the people of Florida woke up to news of shootings taking place. The first was of singer Christina Grimmie from “The Voice” and the second was the tragic event of those shot at the Pulse night club in Orlando, Florida. 

What makes the night club shooting worse was not only did it take place a few days after our Governor John Bel Edwards signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, but it took place at the night club Pulse, known for catering to the LGBTQ+ community. 

Even worse, I woke up in time to see President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on the “act of terror.” Before Obama’s speech, one of his press secretaries mentioned how it was the 15th time that he spoke in front of the American people after a tragic shooting. I find this horrible. Yes, Obama has been president for eight years now which means that he averages speaking about shootings on an average of 1.9 times, and yes, sadly shootings happen every day. But, something I heard raised a question that made me truly think about the state of our nation, “Is this the kind of country that we want to live in?”

In my lifetime, 9/11 has happened and multiple shootings have taken place. I still remember the day that the massacre happened at Columbine High School, then the recent shooting in Aurora at the 2012 midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” The list could go on and on.

What saddens me in today’s society is that this shooting immediately became a social media frenzy. Yes, I know of the tragic event that took place at Wounded Knee, but that does not make this event less tragic. It was horrid what took place at Wounded Knee, and the fact that Americans turned a blind eye is even worse. But, I was not alive in 1890 and I can’t change the past. I know that Wounded Knee was a worse modern day massacre than the 49 that were killed at the Pulse and 53 who were injured. But, I am alive today, and I can physically see the emotional impact that this event is having on our nation, especially those who don’t follow the heterosexual lifestyle that social constraints have made “the norm.”

Yet, our nation doesn’t seem to be letting go of this hate. I’ve seen the “article” of the tweets that showed how some Americans were happy that those who consider themselves gay were killed. I’ve read how some backed it up by religion, politics or personal belief and this saddens me even more. We live in America, the land of the free, and yet sometimes I think we live in the land of fear. I know that we have it a lot better than other nations, trust me, there are some nations that I would not visit. I visited Kiev, Ukraine before the political unrest and I would love, love to go back. However, I would not currently go back due to the state of the nation of the Ukraine. And yet, is America going to be a nation that people will want to travel to in the future?

In the tragic event that took place in Orlando, the people came together. The President of the United States of America addressed the nation and the lines of those willing to donate blood were out the door.

And yet, shouldn’t these same people be donating blood once a month? Shouldn’t the people of America care about one another every day? Shouldn’t we, as a nation, always try to be united?

After Katrina, the people of Louisiana, especially South Louisiana, came together. It didn’t matter what political or religious affiliation one had, we were united, just as those in Florida currently are. And yet, by the time the next issue of “The Lion’s Roar” comes out, I fear that this opinion will be dated. That people will move on, even forget, as hard as that is to believe if you read this opinion when it first hit stands. 

I believe that if a mass shooting took place in Hammond, we would react just as Florida did. We would come together and unite. I could even see a blood donation bus pulling right up to Southeastern, though this raises a whole other issue, some couldn’t give blood, me for example. I couldn’t give blood due to visiting another country, having tattoos, not weighing enough and the lifestyle I have chosen to live. As much as I would want to help those in need, the social constraints of America would stop me. 

So the big question is, where do we go from here? How can we fix the issue that is plaguing America? Can America be fixed? Or, is America doomed to fall as every great empire in the past has such as Rome, China, the Aztecs and so many others?

I wish I could answer this question with a definite answer, especially with being an Opinions Editor before I became the Assistant Editor. Maybe you can and if you can, feel free to write a 150-word Letter to the Editor. As for me, I’ll just think about the state of our nation and how we need to work on being united. Yes, this may be a sad opinion and it is hard to see the point so I’ll leave it with my final say, America needs to work on being a great nation and above that, we need to start loving each other regardless of religion, sexuality, et cetera.