The Toll of Knowing

The shuttle exploded.  It is a personal loss because we knew the name of one of those aboard.  We had known Gus Grissom's name, and so had a part in that tragedy of nineteen years ago.  Unlike Kent State or My Lai, or all of the tragic things that are on the evening news, this is not the death of unknowns.  It is not anonymous tragedy and so like the killing of the president it takes a different toll on the soul of the nation.