Sunday, August 30, 2009

Ronald Reagan
"The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address"
Link To Speech

In Summary:
On January 28, 1986 a speech was given by President Ronald Reagan announcing the tragic event of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. This shock of destruction involved the deaths of seven astronauts. This was a commemorative speech focused on the remembrance of those that deceased and the ones affected by this event. As well, Reagan speaks of what is to come and what is expected from the NASA program.

Move 1: Suspend Judgment:
President Reagan is not putting others to blame but claiming that accidents happen through trial and error whether expected or not. Never did he blame any of the crew members or the NASA program for the problems that caused this event. Likewise, Reagan states, "they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly." As well, President Reagan explains this furthermore by the comment, "I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute." Reagan's views show that this incident was a tragedy we can learn from, not blame for.

Move 2: Define Significant Parts And How They're Related:
In this speech you can see how President Reagan states that accidents do happen , and that you cannot do anything else but try to improve, learn, and have faith in certain situations. Justifying this, is this quote, "I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons.." Reagan is trying to tell the nation that we need to remember the ones who did the unthinkable and that in the future we can continue to experiment. We can still sympathize, and still at the same time continue their efforts and try to find ways to prevent events like this from occurring. Additionally, Reagan continues to thank those in the Space Program for such hard work and effort they have given and continue to give.

Move 3: Make the Implicit Explicit:
The explicit part of this article is the fact that there was indeed a n explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the ones that died, but the implicit part is what REALLY happened. Who was at fault, was it a crisis from mistake, or failure by testing. Was this a factor that was already hypothesized before the mission took place?

Move 4: Look for Patterns:
The is repetition by Ronald Reagan at how there is no specific person or group to be blamed for this. As well, constantly Reagan repeats the sorrow and sympathy for those affected by the crash.

Move 5: Keep Formulating Questions & Explanations:
What improvements will be made the Space Program?
Will the families of those related to the deceased receive compensation for this?
Was there really a person or person(s) responsible for this malfunction?

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