It has been a weekend of tragedy with the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia killing seven astronauts. Seventeen years ago this very same week, the space shuttle Challenger blew up, killing seven also. All 14 of these people died doing something that was ambitious and that they had a love for.

That is what love of live is -- following your dreams even if they are dangerous. Being an astronaut is very dangerous, traveling in outer space to unknown territories. We can challenge ourselves and go to unknown territories by taking chances in our every day lives that may not be life-threatening, but at the same time they can be risky.

Last week, first lady Laura Bush decided to not take a risk by postponing a White House symposium on the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman after some of the poets invited stated they hoped to use the event to protest American military action in Iraq. The event was planned for Feb. 12 and was designed to celebrate the written word.

Press secretary, Noelia Rodriquez said, "While Mrs. Bush respects and believes in the right of all Americans to express their opinions, she too has opinions and believes that it would be inappropriate to turn what was intended to be a library event into a political forum."

It seems to me that Laura Bush may be afraid to hear the eloquent written words that the poets invited would have recited. To be fair, any event that happens at the White House is so thoroughly scrutinized that Laura Bush is most certainly strongly advised to not state much of an opinion. I don’t think the poetry symposium should have been postponed but it could have been moved to a different location.

The postponement is passive-aggressive in not wanting to hear differences of opinions. I agree with Rita Dove, poet laureate from 1993 to '95 in her statement that this postponement shows "this White House does not wish to open its doors to an 'American voice' that does not echo the administrations misguided policies."

Laura Bush is forgetting what her past job was with postponing this event.

She was a teacher and a librarian and history shows that when a book or free speech is put on hold, that it becomes even more enticing to the public.

If this is her opinion on not wanting to hear anti-war poetry, it makes me wonder did she teach only what she was comfortable with? The Bush

Administration is comfortable sending young men and women to fight the war in Iraq but they are uncomfortable in hearing opinions that do not coincide with their way of thinking.

Because of this postponement, poets are writing even more poetry against the war. Poet Sam Hamill created a Web site after he read his message that the symposium was postponed. The web site is called poetsagainstthewar.org. As of last week, he had received over 3,000 responses.

When someone attempts to stifle the written word this only makes the word more enticing. During the Vietnam War, underground newspapers sprung up and readers scrambled to read articles against the war. Musical artists made their points with catchy anti-war songs. Now with the Internet, the written word can be printed even quicker and a larger audience can read in minutes what the Bush administration was afraid to hear. The written word is very powerful and poets and writers will be heard when someone tries to put a lid on them. When we are told to shut up, don't read that, and don't listen, we want to even more. Here on earth we have to take risks and challenge ourselves to be uncomfortable and listen to both sides of an argument.

Clearly our current administration does not want to be challenged.

Sheila Donnelly can be reached at 434-2233 or by e-mail at :mailto:newsroom@austindailyherald.com