April 15 is significant in today’s world for a number of reasons.

In 1892, General
Electric was founded. In 1923, insulin became readily available for the general public. In
1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. But 35 years
earlier, a tragedy occurred. The RMS Titanic, the largest passenger steamship in the
world, and touted to be one of the safest, sank, killing 1,517 people.

1,517 men, women, and children were killed, and like most human tragedies, it
could have been very easily avoided, should Capitan Edward Smith had taken precaution
to avoid the now symbolic iceberg that caused the ship to sink.

Let me give you a little back story. Edward Smith was a Commander in the
British Royal Navy Reserves. He received several awards from King Edward VII,
including the Transport Medal, which was an honor in the RNR. Not too long afterwards,
Smith would be promoted to Commander, another prestigious honor.

It’s very obvious that Capitan Smith was more than qualified to command the
Titanic. In fact, I think many of us believe that had Capitan Smith taken more precaution,
he could have easily saved the Titanic. However, he did not.

There were not enough lifeboats for all of the passengers, meaning that in the
event of an emergency, there was no plausible way for all of the passengers to be saved.
Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had paid $1,700 for a journey across the Atlantic, I
would want to be able to escape in case of an emergency.

In addition, should Capitan Smith have simply ordered a change in the ship’s
course, the entire tragedy could have been avoided. Ice is not something that is simply
avoidable. Capitan Smith, being a Commander in the Royal Navy, should have known
the dangers it presented.

In conclusion, I personally find it very difficult to believe that anyone would think
that the Capitan should not be held responsible for his actions. The families of 1,517
people think so – do you?
 Ladies and gentlemen, at 23:00 hours on April 14, 1912, The Californian, a
nearby ocean liner which had stopped because of the same ice that would sink the
Titanic, sent a radio message to Capitan Smith warning him about the encroaching ice
sheet. Their message was cut off by Titanic Radio Operator Jack Phillips, who said,
quote: “Shut up, shut up; I’m busy working Cape Race.” Mr. Phillips wanted quiet while
he listened to the Newfoundland radio station, but in the coming hours, quiet was the last
thing he would receive.

Capitan Smith also ignored the message, saying that he preferred to go to bed. I
ask you, as Capitan of a deluxe ocean-liner, is he not responsible for the deaths of these
people? The Titanic was supposedly “unsinkable,” not just because of the ship’s design.
Capitan Smith was undoubtedly recognizable in his time period. It’s the equivalent of
getting on a plane with Captain Sully in this day and age.

People, I appeal to your common senses. He could have saved their lives. Instead,
he chose to go to bed. To ignore The Californian’s call, and ignore the calls of the 1,517
people onboard that ship.

As I said earlier, most human tragedies can be avoided. If it’s caused by nature – a
typhoon, a hurricane, then there’s not much we can do about it. But when it’s caused by
human nature, when we’d rather sleep than save lives, that’s when we’ve got a problem.
Thank you.