There is something very wrong with this country, isn’t there?

I did not feel it until Monday morning, when my supervisor called me into his office and wanted to offer his condolences. To be honest, the gravity of the Orlando massacre had not hit me yet.

My boss remembered that my résumé mentioned my extensive work with WSU’s Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center (GIESORC) and the Queer Community, so he empathized with the possibility of me needing time away from work to process. I thanked him for his kindness but politely declined. I said I was fine and that work would be a decent distraction.

As the day wore on, however, I became increasingly melancholy. The ripples of sadness and pain began to wash over me. I felt hate, I felt anger and most of all I felt a growing hurt inside for the beautiful people I will now never meet.

The emotions triggered a rather intense reflection through the day that something wicked has infected our society and it boils down to some basic facts of what it means to be American.

We no longer believe the things we once did. Those sacred promises written by Thomas Jefferson in his draft of the Declaration of Independence are no longer kept. In 1776, he wrote, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independant, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Yet these ideals are not held in our country, and our fellow citizens do not even believe them. The man who shouted “faggots” at my partner Travis and me one night in Spokane did not believe them. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas, who the Associated Press reports tweeted, “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” does not believe these truths. And the man who shot more than 100 of our brothers and sisters in Orlando did not believe them.

This country is indeed sick. We are a house divided; we know longer dine at the same table on the same basic values.

In so many words, we are failing in our American experiment. There are people in this country of all faiths who fundamentally do not believe that their fellow citizens deserve the same rights and legal protections.

The glory of this weekend is that we, both LGBTQ people and our allies, did not stop being proud. We paraded, we danced, we laughed and we celebrated our entire human family.

“People were senselessly killed because of hate for who they are,” director of GIESORC Heidi Stanton-Schnebly said. “Life is so precious and for LGBTQ people we often have to hide parts of ourselves as a matter of survival. Pride is about being true to yourself, celebrating life and sharing joy in a community that accepts us. Hate can’t defeat love. Those lives that were taken, those voices that were silenced … live on in us. We stand together in strength, in peace, with love and hope.”

During a FaceTime call Monday evening, my partner Travis emphasized the link between the LGBTQ community and those affected by this massacre.

“When tragedies like these happen to family, our entire community is devastated. I think that now is not the time to be quick to anger but quick to love, we need to show that though individuals may think we are subhuman that we can display human emotion just as any heterosexual human being can.”

I could not help but think as we talked how lucky I am to have the love of my life alive and well. Too many people do not have that luxury because we have as a people refused to stand up for our basic values.

Many more have joined the cause. My aunt texted me this morning hoping I was safe and telling me she loved me. My mother said she could not be prouder to have me as a son. The fence has been dissolved, and we have ended up on one side or the other.

For those of you who think this is all about guns, you are wrong. For those of you who this boils down to just radical Islamist terrorism, you are also wrong. This massacre boils down to rips showing in the fabric of the American promise.

Today the queer community and the broader American family realized we were at war not against terrorism but at war against hate. We have been shocked out of our stupor from the triumph of marriage equality; we have realized that the war is not over.

The Pulse nightclub in Orlando has become hallowed ground for every American who believes in our ideals. Those who died and may yet die from that night are martyrs for the rights of us all. Pride 2016 is a Pride we will never forget.

To my LGBTQ and allied sisters and brothers, I ask you to make sure that a year from now we give the country and the world a show of pride that will never, ever be forgotten.

Tyler Laferriere is a graduate student pursuing his master’s in economics from Phoenix, Arizona. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of the Office of Student Media.