To man, God did not give great claws, nor powerful teeth, nor speed to hunt. To man, God gave a mind. God himself designed and built man's mind as the tool of his survival. He has been given the ability to out think prey. He has been given the ability to learn farming. He has been given the ability to organize industry. He has been given the ability to teach and learn knowledge from others. These abilities constitute man's tools of survival. His mind is given to him, it's content must be earned. Man's life is given to him, it's sustenance must be earned. Man's environment is given to him, it's capitalization and use must be earned.
To use his mind to survive, to learn, and to build is how man survives. Using his mind is his duty to himself and his offspring. Using his mind to live, to learn, to create, and to build his society is part of man's duty to God himself. To learn to build, therefore, is a holy calling that only man is capable of answering. Building houses for living, building ships for commerce, building cars for transportation, building offices or computers or factories or city parks or anything that man has learned, is the answer to this holy call. Building space ships is one of the most powerful and greatest answers mankind has yet devised.
Sometimes the bear, despite his great claws, fails to overcome his situation. Sometimes the Lion, despite his fierce teeth, fails to win his sustenance. Sometimes the Cheetah, despite his unmatched speed, fails to make his survival. Sometimes, despite the greates of men's minds, their acheivements fail to overcome circumstances. When this happens, some of men will die.
I choose to remember the Columbia as the great product of great minds. Despte it's failure to overcome circumstances, the Columbia is an eternal tribute to the great minds whose Earthly presense was lost. The Columbia is a timeless testament of the powerful minds that learned to design and build it. Many people's work, love, and lives will be harshly impacted by what hapened. But, for the society of mankind, we must always continue to strive to answer God's call to use and expand our minds.