Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Every time you place faith in the American people to demand change, that faith is misplaced. And every time you expect somebody – literally anybody – to display a shred of leadership and do what’s right, you’re going to be left waiting.

Last night it happened again – just like we knew it would. Fifty people were mercilessly gunned down in the blink of an eye. At least 400 more were injured, and scores have been left fighting for their lives. Their crime? Daring to go out in public.

Tens of thousands of people had flocked to the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas to let their hair down and enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of America’s vibrant country music scene. But right in the middle of the festival’s final act, a complete and utter lunatic began indiscriminately raining bullets down on that crowd from the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel.

The hysteric scene that unfolded was absolutely heart-wrenching. It was downright petrifying. They’re already billing this as the deadliest mass shooting in American history. But the story is only too familiar.

Every year, more people get hurt. More people get killed. More communities get destroyed.

Donald Trump: Las Vegas massacre was an act of pure evil

You’d think that we as a nation would have drawn a few bitter lessons from these acts of evil. You’d think we’d be ready to throw our hands up, say “enough is enough” and agree to sacrifice an archaic constitutional right for the greater good. But out there on the streets, these mass shootings just seem to nonsensically reinvigorate America’s pig-headed infatuation with firearms.

Children are getting gunned down literally every day, and still public attitudes remain firmly embedded in the 18th century. And you know what? That’s because attitude reflects leadership – and we haven’t got any to work with.

Hell, we’ve just witnessed the deadliest mass shooting in American history, and the only guidance our President can muster is to tell us we should lower the flag to half-mast.

In a sombre address before the nation, Trump took to the airwaves this morning encouraging us to seek solace in biblical scripture. He praised the “miraculous speed” of local authorities in killing last night’s assailant, and promised to visit Las Vegas in the days to come. Yet above all else, he told us he was praying “for the day when evil is banished, and when the innocent are safe from hatred and from fear”.

And this symbolic waffle took him 10 hours to come up with?

Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting – in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

No mention of gun control, or whether it makes sense for a law-abiding citizen to purchase 10 rifles and enough ammunition to kill over 50 people. No mention of the need to strengthen background checks or ban automatic weapons. No guidance or call to action. No clear path forward. No nothing.

Trump stood at that podium, looked America in the eye and spent 300 seconds trying to placate us with hollow words that won’t get us anywhere. You could almost hear him making this exact same speech three months from now.

Donald Trump isn’t going to do a damn thing to prevent this from happening again – but let’s get real. The President’s meaningless calls for unity are only symptomatic of a wider leadership vacuum – and this masochistic lack of interest in standing up for what’s right is bipartisan, too.

Vast swathes of Congressmen and women are simply too terrified to defy the mulish sadists and NRA drones who turned out for them at the ballot box, and so we’re never going to get more than “thoughts and prayers” from the only people in this country capable of forcing through real change in our country. When innocent people are killed, our leaders equate proactivity with controversial, political suicide. They care more about rocking the boat and preserving opinion polls than they care about our lives.