Volume I No. 51
 02-04-03
 The Tragic Fate of the Space Shuttle Columbia
 { What Lessons Does History Have For Us In This 
   Time Of Doubt? } 
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2003

 The heart-rending disaster that befell the space shuttle Columbia last
 Saturday, will one day be relegated to history. And it was a tragedy
 indeed. The loss of those seven brave souls. Their proud faces, a mosiac
 of the world's populace. And a testament to the diversity of modern 
 American society.

 But in the meantime, there will be weeks if not months of simultaneous 
 investigations by various goverment agencies. And many a news 
 conference where the same questions will be asked and answered, 
 over and over, again.

 Thus is the mundane process of the recording of today's news, as it 
 becomes a part of tomorrow's history lessons. And yet in the history 
 books that are already written we can glean the very conclusions that 
 will eventually come from the experience of the Columbia tragedy.

 The details of course will be different. In the history books of today,
 you won't find a mention of missing ceramic tiles, or defective foam 
 insulation. There won't be any mention of an inadequately and too
 cautiously funded space program. 

 But in the lessons of yesterday's tragedies we will find our answer.
 That human beings are inevitably fallible. That the smallest error can 
 lead to a disaster of momentous proportions. And it matters not where 
 that error originated. 

 The fateful error may have originated in an idea. -- Before it was even
 committed to paper. Or in a blueprint. Or on a drawing board. Maybe in 
 poorly supervised activity in a warehouse, factory, or shipyard. The
 error may have originated where orders were given, but not followed.

 The sinking of the Titantic. Faulty vaccines. Mine accidents. The 
 thousands of ships lost at sea over the centuries. Circus tent fires. 
 Collapsing skyscrapers. The coal fire explosion that sunk the U.S.S. 
 Maine. The death of a princess in a Paris tunnel. Amelia Earhart 
 -- vanished without a trace.

 Pick any human endeavor. There is inevitable error and imperfection, 
 in all things that we as the most evolved animals on the planet, attempt 
 to achieve.

 Yet, despite our failures. It is not within our nature that we should ever 
 admit defeat. We will not stop exploring, building, designing, or dreaming. 
 Some of us will inevitably sacrifice our lives so that future generations 
 may inhabit a world full of glorious wonders beyond imagination.

 This is the great lesson of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. The 
 fateful moment when that winged aircraft exploded into useless debris, 
 is not to be judged only against forgotten memos, faulty design, or even 
 an act of God. 

 We are so much more than mere sentient apes.

 We must look to our past. In the direction from which we have already
 come. And maybe in this one instance, we can recognize our humanity 
 staring right back at us.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2003

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