The Cheapening Of The U.S, Continues

Today, the flags were at half staff for the victims of the shooting at the community college in Oregon.
Why?
It used to be that the a flag was ordered to fly at half staffed when someone important, like a president, Supreme Court justice, a war hero and maybe even a vice president.
Now, if there is a tragedy that involves a medium amount of lost lives, the flags are lowered.
But then, it is inconsistent when they are lowered.
About 2 weeks ago, about 15 including about 10 children people were killed in flash floods in Utah and they flags were not ordered to be lowered and I don't even think President Obama even said anything about it.
Are their lives any less valuable than those who died in Oregon?
Of course not.
And I don't blame Obama- he is in a no win situation- if he doesn't ordered the flags ordered, then he will be questioned by many, including many conservatives.
But it is clear that we are lowering the flags for most any tragedy and the honor is being cheapened.