Here's our chance...

J. Kevin Tumlinson

We've had our share of tragedies lately. The sad news of the Columbia disaster awoke in us memories of the Challenger explosion, but overlaid with those were memories of September 11. Our nation, the entire world, has stood with tears in its eyes and watched as dreams and lives were shattered forever. And then came the blame.

The dust hadn't even settled on New York City when rumors that the President had ignored warnings of a terrorist threat began to circulate. In less than a month we saw debates about neglect and shortsightedness in the White House. And now, in less than a week, reports are already filtering their way into the public domain that there may have been warnings about the safety of the shuttle Columbia. Ashes still rained down to the earth as news affiliates asked NASA officials, "Why weren't you aware of this problem?"

What I worry about is the cost of this current tragedy to our already staggering space program. There can be no doubt that space exploration is one of the top contributors to the advancement of beneficial technology and science on this planet. Now, though, we are forced to step back. We are forced to look at the end and determine if it justifies the means. The question now is, does backbiting journalism keep us from looking at things objectively? Will the tendency of the media to sensationalize every story hobble us in our attempt to just move on?

I saw it a great deal in the coverage of 9/11. The first week, everything was new and startling. It was journalism gold. There was tragedy and death, hope and life. That first week… I'll never forget it as long as I live. Then the questions started. Did the CIA know about the threat and do nothing? Was the President warned in advance? Could the loss of so many lives have been prevented?

Does it matter? The pure fact is that the tragedy did happen. Our tendency to look for someone to blame is out of place here.

There is a fundamental difference between taking responsibility and taking the blame. For the latter, all it takes is a gaggle of fingers pointed in one's direction. For the former, it takes courage and strength and wisdom to stand up and say, "I will make sure that nothing like this ever happens again." Our job, as members of the public, as citizens of the world, is to lower that accusatory finger and say, "We support you."

Let's forget the blame game. That won't get us anywhere. Let us, instead, concentrate on the future. Let us decide to put more money into the space program. Let us think of new ways to be safe. Let us hold each other's hand as we grieve for the world's loss.

Let us grow from each tragedy and move on, becoming stronger and more unified than we ever would have been before.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. He is more truth, less hype.