I found this article on SecurityFocus regarding the never-ending flow of security advisories and vulnerability alerts that come out. The author suggests that many things are written in C / C++ ostensibly for speed- but that they need not be written in low-level languages. He proposes that higher level languages like Perl of Java can do the trick without much of a performance hit and more importantly without so much access to core system processes.

There is also a macho streak in programmers: a tendency to believe that one's own code is well-written, and a corresponding belief that real coders, like fighter pilots, work as close as possible to the bare metal: Real programmers manipulate the system at the lowest possible level, for the maximum possible effect.
He freely admits that the higher-level languages have their own issues and security vulnerabilities and that its possible to use tools to help validate code against vulnerabilities in the lower-level languages.

It would be nice if we could expect that our programmers would act more like airline pilots than fighter pilots: that they acknowledge, and accept, the responsibility that they take for the well-being of others. Until they take this step, I doubt that the quality and security of the code that we all rely on will improve.

MORE
I am a mere programming dabbler- a little C++, a little VB, VC, etc. - but by no means a guru in any of them. I am curious if other programmers feel that the programming community at large is not doing enough to write secure code and validate it before pushing it out the door.

Microsoft takes a constant stream of heat over their security flaws- but it seems that no vendor has such a great track record. Can the programming community improve this situation or is it just the way it will always be?