I’m glad to read that the rescue of the boy’s soccer team (the Wild Boars) that became stranded in a flooded cave in Thailand was successful.

This is one of those slow-motion rescue stories that draws public attention now and then. Every so many years here in the USA, there is (or used to be) a mine incident where workers get trapped, and rescuers race against the clock to get them out alive. The drama of these situations is like catnip to the masses, and when it works and the rescue is successful (the more dangerous the better!), everyone feels a bit of a lift. Humankind shows that it can still come together when nature threatens one or a small group of its members, and we all feel better about our tribe. Perhaps a rescue incident helps us to forget for a few minutes about all the rotten things that we do to each other in the normal course of events.

So, the public got what it wanted from the Tham Luang Cave rescue. Except that there was a bit of tragedy, one brave diver died in the effort. I didn’t see too many articles about the man, a Mr. Saman Gunan, in the US press; to read about him, you had to seek out the various tributes published in the British, Australian and New Zealand press.  »  continue reading …