At almost exactly 9:00 on the morning of February 1st, the Space Shuttle Colombia broke apart while attempting re-entry. The blast killed the crew of seven and rained debris across hundreds of square miles.

Before 3:30 that same afternoon, pieces of the debris (which may be crucial to figuring out what happened to cause the tragedy) were on sale to the highest bidder on Ebay. God Bless Capitalism.

Now that we’re through with that aside, I present my first foray into the field of political commentary (well, my first on Fredrickville, anyway):

Our nation’s media jumped on the tragedy immediately, trying to point fingers and questioning the merit of the manned space program. They spoke of president Kennedy’s speech committing the nation to the space program and to putting a man on the moon. They spoke of the risks of the manned space program. And my feverish mind began making some depressing connections:

FACT: In the 1960’s, President Kennedy committed the nation to manned space flight (sorry about the repetition, it will all become clear later).

FACT: In doing so, he acknowledged that there are certain risks inherent in manned exploration of space; space and space travel are risky, but the President and the nation agreed that the benefits were worth the risks.

FACT: Only three fatal accidents have occurred in the last forty years of U.S. space exploration: Appollo I, Challenger, and now Colombia. Total death toll: 17
FACT: In 2002-2003, President Bush has more or less committed the nation to war. While human death or injury may be risks associated with space travel, they are the end result and immediate goal of war. News stations and papers immediately picked up on the Colombia explosion as a tragedy, and the nation has been mourning it for the last three days. And yet the millions, perhaps billions, of deaths and life-changing injuries which have come from countless military conflicts are reported as little more than numbers. We put up a collective monument to the dead and maimed from our country, never to the lives our military takes.

It is impossible to achieve world peace through war. It is time we recognized the value of human life, American as well as foreign. I’m sorry this column wasn’t amusing. I’m having trouble finding justification, let alone humor, in our nation’s march to slaughter.

Ordinarily, an article like this would end in a call to action. I won't delude you-almost nothing can be done to stop the administration from going to war, but the least we can do is to make it known that there are still those out there who don't support military action. Attend protests, write letters and emails, call senators and congressmen. But don't get your hopes up too high, Peace already has her head on the chopping block, and the U.S. is about to let the axe fall.

Stumble this article.