A Moment Of Silence
Smoke_Nova
Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8697Members
Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8697Members
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">A solemn off-topic post</div> Let us have a moment of silence for the seven lives lost on the shuttle Columbia. Some people here may know them and let us be kind to them.
Some may say that they died doing their duty. I believe that they died serving humanity, for their solidarity and belief that humankind can do better then petty wars and greed.
If anyone chooses to mock this post, then I pity you, for you are not human, you are varelese, the djur, the dire beast who only wants suffering.
thank you and good day/night.
Some may say that they died doing their duty. I believe that they died serving humanity, for their solidarity and belief that humankind can do better then petty wars and greed.
If anyone chooses to mock this post, then I pity you, for you are not human, you are varelese, the djur, the dire beast who only wants suffering.
thank you and good day/night.
Comments
Let us have a moment of silence for the people that lost there lives to day
they died doing there job
sad but true
As much as I respect NASA and the crew lost today, I dont agree with your second part.
If China's manned splaceflight goes well later this year, I wouldnt be suprised if they put a colony on the moon, or go to mars in my lifetime.
<a href='http://www.acn.net.au/articles/anzac/lastpost1.htm' target='_blank'>In Memorium</a>
(It isn't American, but it suits. Quicktime Required)
Iraq is gonna be the death of a lunar colony by 2020.
The reason I love NASA and the space program so much is that they are able to put aside differences and work towards a goal of making a better future.
and thanks for moving it Nemesis, now it's in the right place that few people read. Oh well, can't win them all...but apparently our president thinks we can.
It is definitely sad that these 7 people died. I do understand and agree that there are more people that are dying of natural causes every minute around the world. They aren't dying in vain, are they? Are their deaths trivial? Hundreds die in Sudan because they don't follow the Muslim religion. They are burned alive, murdered, maimed, tortured, raped... all because they don't want to follow the Islamic belief. Nothing is discussed about them in the news. They are ignored. Yet they are still dead, and suffered longer than the 7 astronauts, before finally dying. Sometimes they didn't die, and had to feel the pain of healing. Yet nothing is said.
I read in another forum about this topic, and it was suggested that the reason that these few deaths were noticed was due to the mission of human advancement: that these astronauts were all striving to better humanity. I don't know their motives.
It is my opinion that these few were noticed because they made a giant fireball in the sky. Newsworthy.
It's a tragedy. I'm not sure why everone feels connected to these people. Perhaps some of you were affected. I am saddened that they had to die. But on most of the forums I have visited with these subjects, everyone is sad and angry about death in general, to the point that they are lashing out at each other for odd reasons. Why?
Please, don't take this the wrong way. It's just my random musings. I'm not trying to be insensitive. It's a problem with me. I have a tendency to be rather cold. Death of unknown people doesn't seem to have as much of an effect on me as it does others.
I just feel solemn because they died in such a fashion as to attract the notice of the media.
These people died living their life long dream!
Their ultimate goal in life was to go in to space and they succeeded in doing so. They all knew it was a dangerous job but they still grabbed the opportunity because they had the strength within themselves to sacrifice their lives for ultimate happiness. They didn't know they were going to die but the knew it was a possibility and their families knew it was a possibility.
I am not an American, I am not patriotic toward the United States, I don't believe in this "to better mankind" stuff but I am proud of those seven men and women regardless.
They did not die in vein. But they did not die bettering mankind. They died making the most of their lives and fulfilling their dreams.
They are not in my mind heroes just because they died, they are heroes because they did what many of us couldn't. They paid the ultimate price for ultimate happiness.
That is why I will remember these people.
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Well, you know, it helps to know them before making generalizations like "they don't want people to care that they died."
These people died living their life long dream!
Their ultimate goal in life was to go in to space and they succeeded in doing so. They all knew it was a dangerous job but they still grabbed the opportunity because they had the strength within themselves to sacrifice their lives for ultimate happiness. They didn't know they were going to die but the knew it was a possibility and their families knew it was a possibility.
I am not an American, I am not patriotic toward the United States, I don't believe in this "to better mankind" stuff but I am proud of those seven men and women regardless.
They did not die in vein. But they did not die bettering mankind. They died making the most of their lives and fulfilling their dreams.
They are not in my mind heroes just because they died, they are heroes because they did what many of us couldn't. They paid the ultimate price for ultimate happiness.
That is why I will remember these people. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Way to make me feel crappy about my meaningless life.
All I’m saying is that people die all the time but not everyone gets a chance to follow their dreams. If I died tomorrow I personally would not understand why 20 million people I have never met are upset that I died. It is a fact of life that people die.
They should be respected for what they achieved not because they died. What is the point of life if everybody only remembers you for dying and not for what you did your entire life? Graves are to remember your death.
It's up to their families to mourn for their lost loved ones.
It's up to us to make sure these people are never forgotten.
Personally, I found DuBERS' post to be very well-written, heartfelt, and sincere. Your false rewording of the message in response, quite simply, was grossly exxagerated and completely lacks tact and sensitivity, considering the situation.
Your 'interpretation' that "they don't want people to care that they died" is clearly nowhere near the truth. There will definetly be people that will miss these 7 people - their family and their friends, most of all.
The world honors their accomplishments, their successes, and their lives. They were able to attain what many of us strive for, but may or may not achieve - to be able to live out their lifelong goal.
In other words, they accomplished what many of them waited their whole lives to do.
DuBERS' statement of "don't mourn for these people thats not what they would have wanted" was one that did actually affect me.
To be quite honest, I'm sorry to admit that this tragic incident never really affected me until I understood that message.
It kind of makes me sick how much this has been trivialized through commercialism. IMO, news stations shouldn't have custom titles for ANY news items (war on terror, anthrax letters, mideast, etc).
But anyway, I'm sorry that the astronauts died. But you know, if I had my choice, I'd like to die like that. I mean compared to all the other ways. Being in zero-grav has got to be the coolest thing ever, and 4 of the 7 astronauts got the awesome chance to experience it. I know they had families, etc they were looking forward to meeting when they got home. But if I was an astronaut and I was going to die en route to home, I would rather forget terrestrial gravity and all the emotional gravity associated with it and die in the space shuttle. I'm willing to bet it was rather instantaneous.
Like the public relations officer FOX was interviewing. The reporter said something to the effect of "I know this is a tragedy. It's so very saddening for everyone. But do you think that this accident was due to negligence?"
Do the news reporters have to have all their emotions sapped out of them?
EDIT -|- I believe he was also warned that this time of the year is not right for a launch with a spaceship, as what goes up must come down -|- EDIT
EDIT -|- I believe he was also warned that this time of the year is not right for a launch with a spaceship, as what goes up must come down -|- EDIT <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
You seem overly eager to blame the president. Things are not matching correctly. It has been said Bush isn't giving enough funding to NASA (the X-33 project was scrapped, for instance). However, now you're saying he's controlling and rushing plans? I think you're off base. Bush seems very uninterested in NASA's projects right now (not saying he should or shouldn't be). So then I would say that NASA would be the one controlling the flight times. Perhaps they would send a takeoff request to the president, but only if it was safe.
On top of that, if NASA knew that these things were needing to be replaced, why is it Bush's fault NASA sent it up to space?
I live in the United States, and since the accident Saturday morning, I have not heard one single person say that this is an "American" tragedy. Not one person I've listened to or talked to has described it that way. These astronauts work to better ALL of our lives. The early competition between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was nothing more than a carry-over from the Cold-War perspective. Any nation capable of contributing to space exploration is accepted openly by the rest. The press wants to focus on their nationalities and that's fine but don't get hung up on it. These people deserve your respect not because of where they came from but because of where they were going.
As for you Revenant, using this tragic event to spread your political propaganda is nothing short of disgusting. We don't congratulate the president when there is a successful space flight and to try to blame him when there's an accident is ridiculous. As of now I'll be going out of my way to ignore your point of view in later discussions.
If I were to hold a moment of silence for everyone whom I thought deserved it, I would never speak again, and my grave certainly wouldn't have an intercom installed.
People are dying as you read this message - thousands an hour, in all kinds of horrible or not ways. I don't think any one of those people should deserve mourning any more than the others. If I knew any of them, then that's different - they were a part of my life that is now lost. But otherwise, I have to say it doesn't interest me. People die. The only reason they're in the news is because of <i>how</i> they died. If one of them was in an accident a month ago you can be sure you wouldn't hear squat on the front pages, and probably nothing in the middle. If they had all died over the past year in their own private ways, then this post wouldn't be here. Noone here would be mourning, and if you heard about it I imagine most of you probably wouldn't really care. Why is this a big deal? Am I missing something? I get the feeling someone was right when they said this is only reported because they made a big flaming ball in the sky, or something to that extent. The novelty and unfrequent occurance of people dying in space shuttles is probably the culprit. That, and also that they had to tie up any earlier stories related to the launch as well - they couldn't just say nothing.
I personally don't care if noone other than my friends and family mourns my death. How can they? They don't even KNOW me. To mourn my death, surely you must know something of what I've done, my personality, my experiences, my beliefs, my actions, etc - otherwise, when that moment of silence comes you'll have nothing to actually think about. I can't hold a minute of silence for these 7 men for the same reason. I have no idea who they were, and they meant nothing to me. Nothing.
If I were to hold a moment of silence for everyone whom I thought deserved it, I would never speak again, and my grave certainly wouldn't have an intercom installed.
People are dying as you read this message - thousands an hour, in all kinds of horrible or not ways. I don't think any one of those people should deserve mourning any more than the others. If I knew any of them, then that's different - they were a part of my life that is now lost. But otherwise, I have to say it doesn't interest me. People die. The only reason they're in the news is because of <i>how</i> they died. If one of them was in an accident a month ago you can be sure you wouldn't hear squat on the front pages, and probably nothing in the middle. If they had all died over the past year in their own private ways, then this post wouldn't be here. Noone here would be mourning, and if you heard about it I imagine most of you probably wouldn't really care. Why is this a big deal? Am I missing something? I get the feeling someone was right when they said this is only reported because they made a big flaming ball in the sky, or something to that extent. The novelty and unfrequent occurance of people dying in space shuttles is probably the culprit. That, and also that they had to tie up any earlier stories related to the launch as well - they couldn't just say nothing.
I personally don't care if noone other than my friends and family mourns my death. How can they? They don't even KNOW me. To mourn my death, surely you must know something of what I've done, my personality, my experiences, my beliefs, my actions, etc - otherwise, when that moment of silence comes you'll have nothing to actually think about. I can't hold a minute of silence for these 7 men for the same reason. I have no idea who they were, and they meant nothing to me. Nothing. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href='http://www.osearth.com/resources/worldometers/worldcrew.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.osearth.com/resources/worldomet...worldcrew.shtml</a>
And you seem to be taking this simple post Let us put aside our differences and look to the sky and hope for a better future, which those people were busy trying to make (I read somewhere that they were bringing something to ISS).
I never meant for this post to turn into a debate over "should we mourn seven people who died in a media-catching way or should we mourn the thousands who die from starvation, guns, knives, bombs, and everything in between".
Put aside your differences, whether it be creed, race or beliefs. Let us hope for a better future in which mankind can get along with itself...or are we truly our own Worst Enemy? Can we do no better in furthuring our species then kill each other for mere corporeal possessions?
"The Worst Enemy lies within" - Parasite Eve
Yet you never see 3rd world starving children on the front page.
These Astronauts were brave people, and died doing something they loved, and they were important people and as such their deaths might mean a lot. Personally I hope it causes people to realise that no matter the dangers of space, we must keep striving to learn more about space, keep exploring.
After all, its our children's only hope. And their children's. And so on. Sooner or later we are going to run out of room and resources, and I know im not going to be here, but I damn well hope my children don't have to be either.
Caring is thinking about it and making choices affected by their passing.
Mourning is stopping what you're doing altogether and dedicating time to them solely. A moment of silence is a perfectly fine thing to do for those lost...but it need not be dragged out. I know that if I die when I go into service this April I would not want people to mourn my loss, just recognize why I died and continue with my ideals.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I am making my own Article(s) shortly, I'm gathering up evidence etc. All else I have to say is Bush was warned Columbia was not up to the job, and most of the EXTERIOR needed replacing. Sometimes updates are needed . . .
EDIT -|- I believe he was also warned that this time of the year is not right for a launch with a spaceship, as what goes up must come down -|- EDIT <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well the shuttle launched fine, but the reentry into the atmosphere was what caused it to overheat and lose control, eventually disintegrating.
I am truly surprised that so few shuttle launches go amiss - just think about the conditions that they are put through. They accelerate to over 5000 Miles/Hour before they exit into the upper atmosphere, which takes roughly 90 seconds, then they orbit the planet at roughly 19000 miles per hour, then they reenter the atmosphere at over 16000 mph...just think if you hit dense air that fast, it would be like falling into water at 200 miles/hour from a 30000 ft. drop. It's testament to the resolve of the shuttle crews, the scientists behind them, and the craftsmanship of the American Aeronautics Industry.
As it goes: all the good accomplishments are superceded by one failure, unfortunately. Just take a look at all the research we've done and all the things we have learned from the shuttle missions.
--<b>slightly off subject</b>--
Also just because you dislike the current President do not make allegations that he knew this was going to happen. A single *successful* shuttle launch costs roughly $1 Billion U.S., the shuttle and equipment, crew and their training adds heavily to that cost, well over doubling it. That's a lot of cash that even Bill Gates would not want to lose.
Everyone assumes that Bush is naive, that he doesn't know how to handle situations, and that he's so sneaky and coniving...but you have to remember that he's also got an excellent group of individuals in his cabinet that far exceed the accomplishments of most other people in the world. Even if the President himself is stupid (which he is NOT), he's got one helluva backbone supporting his actions.
I'd like to see how some of these people who knock the President do at his job, they'd probably crack within the first week.
(Apologies for, well...flaming this dude - of course this is not the thread for it but I felt that it would be a bad choice to create another separate thread for it. He should have created one himself.)
He's not stupid...he just has his own limits...some of which he struggles with *cough* reading a scripted speech rather then just going with it *cough*.
Granted tho, the 1.2 trillion tax (damn, no curses) ...stuff is kinda dodgy tho.
But yes, they were but a few. I'm my many convasations with people over Sept 11, some have accused me of not caring enough about the people who died. But should these people, and the people on the Columbia, be given precedence over the others around the world who die because of actions taken by the US? No, I don't think so. 500,000 Iraqi children killed by sanctions makes for sobering reading. Yet the very people who support these sanctions will weep over Columbia or Sept 11. That isn't just, nor fair, but rather shows us where our priorities lie. For Americans, Iraqi children are a long way away, New York is a few states away. It has more of an impact because it's closer to home, and more personal. However, a nation can be as close as Cuba and still be ignored, yet deaths are certainly caused there by the continuing US embargo. Out of sight, out of mind, is too true these days.
But for talk of what is right and wrong, these are human ideas and emotions which we have applied to the world around us. Grind the universe down to single atoms and you won't find a trace of justice, nor a spek of good, or a grain of evil. I do not blame or critisise Americans for morning the deaths of other Americans. But I do blame and critisise Americans for not caring about what the actions of their country cause in the other nations of the world.