No Comparison

Ecstatic about yesterday's inspiring Chilean miner rescue, I followed the story all day, internally cheering each time the number saved went up. And I think it read it on the NYTimes Lede blog, or maybe on the BBC's live coverage, that this event was a reverse of September 11. Then, the world watched in horror, scared and angry, coming together in sympathy and compassion and goodwill (at least for awhile), but the hopes that more survivors would be found--that the donated blood would be needed, that the people on "Lost" signs would be found--were dashed. Yesterday, the world watched in increasingly optimistic anticipation, coming together again in sympathy and compassion and goodwill, and all our hopes were rewarded as all 33 miners and the additional rescuers were pulled safely from the depths of the earth and despair. At least for a little while, we saw the possibilities of an inspired, overjoyed, connected world community.