I'm fairly new to this discussion board so please pardon me if my question seems to be quite trivial.

I was wondering why the lightning network hasn't been launched yet?

I understand the SegWit needs to be activated first and miners are essentially centralizing their power for their own interests but for the whole Bitcoin ecosystem, the LN speeds up confirmation times, enables the transfer of really small values and streamlines the process of transferring BTC within the Bitcoin network.

Although there are drawbacks to this extension, I think that the pros outweigh the cons and it should be launched as soon as possible. The politics behind this debate does not contribute anything to the ecosystem and something needs to be done in order for Bitcoin to be a sustainable method of payment in the future.

So can anyone help me understand what's stopping this from happening? In my opinion, I think this is the future of the Bitcoin network and it would be a shame if consensus cannot be reached regarding this topic.

Please discuss.