I was just going through my daily spam – delete, delete, delete – I came across my first round of Columbia spam. Yes, you can now send out e-cards to “Pray for God’s help following the Columbia tragedy” and “Remember these brave heroes who gave their lives for humanity.” Just so wrong.
I think it’s terrible that the shuttle crashed. I’m grateful for the people who are astronauts. But at the same time, I keep thinking over and over about the fact that if we go to war, 7 people could die in the first day. There won’t be media tributes for two days when that happens. There won’t be news about them at every turn. Astronauts choose a path knowing that there could be risks, but they live out their dream. Most people that join the military do so thinking that they will never be called in to battle. I know this first hand – the majority of the people that I knew in the Army back during the first Desert Storm said exactly that. They never thought they would go in to battle, they never thought there would be a war.
I feel for the families of the Columbia astronauts. I feel also for the families of the members of our military as we are about to head in to war. I especially feel for people like my cousin Eric, who watched his best friend die in Operation Anocanda almost a year ago. A total of seven were killed in the mission. While I watched all the tributes this weekend, I couldn’t help but think of how there was no tribute for those men that died in Afghanistan, fighting for their country.
They are the real heros in my eyes. If you ask me, they deserve the tributes.
“If someone wasn’t there, they’ll never understand or really realize the feelings, the sights, the smells you really do experience when you’re over there.”
“A lot of people know we’re in Afghanistan, but they go to bed and don’t know what’s going on there on the other side of the world – what war actually is.”