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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 667879" data-attributes="member: 177">Not quite.&nbsp; The mission is important because of the people, and the people are important because of the mission.&nbsp; The two are not mutually exclusive.By the logic of the Babel story, we should not go to space.&nbsp; The risk is too high.&nbsp; If preserving human life really were the greatest good of all, then we could not morally allow anyone to take mortal risks.The seven on board Columbia knew the risks, and took them because the mission was important.&nbsp; They flew for the dream.&nbsp; It is not for us afterwards to say that the mission wasn't important without them.&nbsp; They certainly thought it was important.&nbsp; If they hadn't made that choice, they would not have been heroes.On the flip side, to us the mission and the dream are all the more important because they made that choice, and gave their lives for it.&nbsp; So, I say the two go hand in hand.&nbsp; It is not one above the other, but both side by side - the mission and the people who undertake it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 667879, member: 177"] Not quite. The mission is important because of the people, [i]and[/i] the people are important because of the mission. The two are not mutually exclusive. By the logic of the Babel story, we should not go to space. The risk is too high. If preserving human life really were the greatest good of all, then we could not morally allow anyone to take mortal risks. The seven on board Columbia knew the risks, and took them because the mission was important. They flew for the dream. It is not for us afterwards to say that the mission wasn't important without them. They certainly thought it was important. If they hadn't made that choice, they would not have been heroes. On the flip side, to us the mission and the dream are all the more important because they made that choice, and gave their lives for it. So, I say the two go hand in hand. It is not one above the other, but both side by side - the mission and the people who undertake it. [/QUOTE]

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