Columbia Is Lost

NASA has lost yet another space shuttle and seven astronauts to tragedy, as the Columbia space shuttle has broken apart over Texas and Louisiana.The response among ordinary Americans, at least from what I've seen out on the street, hasn't been the same as as the events of September 11, 2001, or even the Challenger explosion in 1986. At the supermarket today, people were going about their business. At the bank, a few customers were handling their transactions just as they always do on a Saturday morning. At the post office, everyone calmly waited in line to buy stamps or to mail a package. I heard no one talking about it, no one mention it, or anything of the sort; everything was business as usual. Maybe 9/11 has simply dulled people's reaction to tragedy.

That said, I seriously think it's time to consider de-activating the space program. We've learned as much as we can about outer space, we've made as many scientific innovations and breakthroughs as possible, now let us close this chapter of American history and turn our collective attention to the many problems here on earth.