President Obama today declared that flags flying on federal property will be lowered through Veterans Day. Gov. Perry on Thursday issued a flag-lowering declaration for state property through the weekend.
The declarations, of course, are in honor of the tragedy at Fort Hood this week, when at least a dozen people were killed in a shooting rampage.
But guess what? Not everyone in Amarillo is abiding by the declarations.
A caller phoned today to complain that City Hall hadn’t lowered its flags. A quick call to the city confirmed, though, that the flags had been lowered as directed.
I get that private property owners aren’t obligated to lower their flags to half staff; the declarations affect only government property. But the horror that befell Fort Hood affects all Americans. It has been seared into our national soul.
We all owe the men and women injured or killed in this tragic event the respect of a grateful nation. For that matter, we should lower the flags in honor of all the brave soldiers at Fort Hood who endured the terror of those horrifying hours.