[DFT] Fw: [ChivalryToday] Hail Columbia

[Seanan mac Tighearnain]

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Hail Columbia
By Scott Farrell
©2003 Shining Armor Enterprises
www.ChivalryToday.com

The loss of the space shuttle Columbia has been foremost on everyone's
mind during the past week. And like all tragedies, once the initial
shock and tears had passed, the question raised by administrators,
reporters and politicians was: "Could this have been avoided?"

In this case, that question was made even more pointed by the fact that
Columbia's mission, designated STS-107, was comprised mainly of routine
work. The astronauts carried out a bank of experiments which included
collecting dust from the upper atmosphere, growing bone cells in zero
gravity and testing fire-suppression methods in space - nothing, as
analysts have noted, that couldn't have been done by robots. Columbia
was essentially an orbital laboratory. The last communication from the
crew was not a memorable quotation of heroic sacrifice, but a notation
of Columbia's tire pressure.

Hearing this makes some people bristle. "Why did brave men and women
die doing such mundane things?" they ask. The implication is that
bravery is a quality which should be reserved exclusively for epic
causes, and should not be "wasted" on day-to-day tasks.

Yet our world is full of mundane, routine jobs that, like Columbia's
final mission, involve degrees of risk which we've all agreed are small
and acceptable. The sales representative on a cross-country flight, the
truck-driver hauling vegetables to the neighborhood supermarket, the
electrician running wiring in a new school building, the doctor
researching a vaccine for a fatal disease - we often overlook the real
dangers these people (and millions of others) face every day as they go
about the business of their jobs and obligations.

During the Middle Ages, before a knight rode away from his castle, he
would place a pinch of soil into his mouth to acknowledge the
possibility that he might meet his demise and return to the earth
before coming home from the campaign or quest. (This is thought to be
the origin of the phrase, "bite the dust.") This was not a fatalistic
ritual, but rather a reminder that hazards are inherent in nearly every
endeavor, and that even a seemingly mundane enterprise can become a
discovery of the Knightly Virtue of courage.

The fact that Columbia was completing an unremarkable mission on
February 1, 2003, should not diminish the bravery of the seven
astronauts who were lost. Instead, Columbia's last flight should serve
as a tribute to all the knights in shining armor of the world who carry
out routine missions each and every day with courage, pride and
chivalry.

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Readers are permitted and encouraged to share this article with anyone
who demonstrates exemplary courage, or who was affected by the
sacrifice of the astronauts aboard Columbia. Please include all
copyrights and attributions when sharing articles from Chivalry Today.
Copyright 2003 Scott Farrell and Shining Armor Enterprises. Visit our
website at www.ChivalryToday.com .


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