Posted by Tug Boat Lonnie on Monday, February 03, 2003 at 4:41PM :
In Reply to: OT: I dont get it.... posted by Jonas. on Monday, February 03, 2003 at 2:09AM :
Jonas,
Hard question, maybe it has several answers. Maybe we Americans are just numb to any death that isn't very unusual. Last year, Los Angeles averaged one murder per day, but only the high profile murders (OJ, Robert Blake, etc) get any attention at all. Movies, TV, New, etc show violence and murder every hour of every day. This is all a background buzz until something different grabs our attention.
Astronauts are different. Not that the sacrifice that others in the military make is any less noble, its just a matter of difference.
How many Americans have fought and died in defense of this country? A lot.
How many Astronauts have died trying to pioneer space travel? Very few.
I personally think the sacrifice is probably greater for those heroes who died defending this country because a lot of them made their last actions knowing that it would mean certain death or capture but still had the guts and courage to go forward. They certainly did not get the recognition or thanks they deserved.
Everyone I know of that was on the ground in 1969 was looking up at the moon and trying to imagine what it must be like to walk on the moon. The astronauts did what the rest of us only dream about. That makes them different.
It doesn't much matter to the families of a lost one whether they died in the space program or the battlefield, but it probably matters to all of us who have stared at the moon and wondered.
God bless them all
Just my two cents
Best Wishes
Lonnie