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Luk
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Wroclaw, Lower Silesia, Poland
Mar 1999
time: 06:25
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It is not important to me... many more people are dying more innocent from car accidents, or murders. It was accident, it is no big deal
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Velociryx
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of Candle'Bre
Apr 1999
time: 05:25
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Always a good idea not to put *all* your stock into symbols, but let's face it, the USA was born and bred on them.
Look at our first President, George Washington.
Here was a guy who was the absolute embodiment of everything the fledgling USofA was fighting for. He was a towering, imposing figure (6'3", when the troops under his command averaged a height of 5'6").
Some might ask, "well, what was so special about him?" and then proceed to point out his many flaws and shortcomings, the two most commonly pointed out being:
* He kept slaves (and therefore, what a hypocrite he was....talking about the equality of men)
* He was a less-than-stellar general (a review of his battle record will reveal that he lost more battles than he won, and his biggest victories came in the form of "cheese" attacks and surprise raids)
Both technically correct, perfectly valid points, but the story doesn't end there.
Here was a guy who later (after the dust had settled and the fighting was over) freed his slaves, precisely because it ran counter to everything he had been fighting for (a thing that Washington's contemporary, Thomas Jefferson, never did, btw....Jefferson was far more eloquent in his expression, but lacked the courage of his convictions). Here was a guy who was HANDED an entire country (elected our first president by a unanimous vote), and who could EASILY have gone on to become the "First King of the United States."
I mentioned this point in another thread, but it bears repeating here.
Washington's nemesis of that day was King George of England, who said of the upstart across the pond that "if Washington goes back to his farm after his tenure in power, he will be the man of the age."
Washington served two consecutive terms (setting the precident for that), and then peacefully, willingly gave up the nation's highest office.
The English King was right, and America's first President became also among her first, and most cherished symbols.
All people, all nations rely on symbols because they DO unify, and in our particular case, we were born on the back of one.
Can't give that up.
-=Vel=-
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DuncanK
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Evil Empire
Dec 2002
time: 21:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Velociryx
Always a good idea not to put *all* your stock into symbols, but let's face it, the USA was born and bred on them.
Look at our first President, George Washington.
Here was a guy who was the absolute embodiment of everything the fledgling USofA was fighting for. He was a towering, imposing figure (6'3", when the troops under his command averaged a height of 5'6").
Some might ask, "well, what was so special about him?" and then proceed to point out his many flaws and shortcomings, the two most commonly pointed out being:
* He kept slaves (and therefore, what a hypocrite he was....talking about the equality of men)
* He was a less-than-stellar general (a review of his battle record will reveal that he lost more battles than he won, and his biggest victories came in the form of "cheese" attacks and surprise raids)
Both technically correct, perfectly valid points, but the story doesn't end there.
Here was a guy who later (after the dust had settled and the fighting was over) freed his slaves, precisely because it ran counter to everything he had been fighting for (a thing that Washington's contemporary, Thomas Jefferson, never did, btw....Jefferson was far more eloquent in his expression, but lacked the courage of his convictions). Here was a guy who was HANDED an entire country (elected our first president by a unanimous vote), and who could EASILY have gone on to become the "First King of the United States."
I mentioned this point in another thread, but it bears repeating here.
Washington's nemesis of that day was King George of England, who said of the upstart across the pond that "if Washington goes back to his farm after his tenure in power, he will be the man of the age."
Washington served two consecutive terms (setting the precident for that), and then peacefully, willingly gave up the nation's highest office.
The English King was right, and America's first President became also among her first, and most cherished symbols.
All people, all nations rely on symbols because they DO unify, and in our particular case, we were born on the back of one.
Can't give that up.
-=Vel=- |
Good post Vel. I have to say though that there aren't many men like George Washington. Some Americans love to say that George Washington symbolises America, but that is just really hog wash. I don't think we've had a president like George Washington since, and nothing close since FDR.
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Jack_www
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damn does not look good for them, I dont think they are still alive, not unless they knew the shuttle was breaking up and ejected before it was too late.
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Andrew1999
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In addition to the loss of the crew, the loss of the Columbia shuttle itself is a major blow for NASA. Endeavor was able to be assembled quickly because they had more or less a shuttle's worth of spare parts on hand. I don't think they have that now--they've lost a quarter of their shuttle fleet, probably permanently. Imagine what it would do to operations if the Navy lost 1/4 of its ships or the Air Force lost 1/4 of their planes in one incident.
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Jack_www
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well if they had there suits on, but I think they are dead. I cant see how they are alive.
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Eli
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Israel
Jul 2000
time: 07:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Solver
Now American astronauts will likely use Russian spacecraft to get in space. |
Not likely.
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Jack_www
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Russian space craft is not the best in the world. Even with the explusions of two space shuttles I would rather go on a space shuttle then Russian space craft.
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Jack_www
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I think that the heat sheild of the shuttle was damaged. That may explain why it broke up. If they can find out what happened quickly then they can start to build the space station and take a new crew up to the Space Station.
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Edan
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I think this is still relevant:
quote:
Address to the Nation: The Challenger Disaster
January 28, 1986
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, **** Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them...
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved good-bye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presid...challenger.html
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01-02-2003 22:02
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