2010-10-16T14:44:31Ztag:sursumcorda.salemsattic.com,2018:/isso/thread/post/heretical-thoughts-on-the-chilean-miners-rescuetag:sursumcorda.salemsattic.com,2018:/isso/560/21672010-10-16T14:44:31ZSursumCorda<p>Good points, although in the case of, say, the Vietnam War POW's, I understand other countries ignoring their plight -- but not our own. No matter what one's political views, the welfare (physically, spiritually, socially, psychologically) of someone who has sustained such long-term suffering is at least as important as that of the miners.</p> <p>I think you're right about &quot;small, contained group.&quot; My complaint reminds me of the saying we heard over and over again in the 1970's: <em>If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we....</em>&quot; Landing a man on the moon was a specific, technological feat amenable to solution by infusion of sufficient money and effort. Curing cancer and ending poverty proved to be much more complicated. What's more, there was no one with significant political or economic interest in <em>not</em> having the miners rescued, whereas ending the drug problem or stopping the global sex trade—each of which represents a quantity of suffering orders of magnitude greater—encounters significant opposition.</p> <p>And now there are 17 <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11558763" rel="nofollow noopener">coal miners trapped in China</a>....</p>tag:sursumcorda.salemsattic.com,2018:/isso/560/21662010-10-14T10:24:37ZStephan<p>I think that a small, contained group in a tragic situation makes for a better story than that of a large, dispersed group, and provides better political capital than a group whose peril could be linked to political decisions in the past. Especially in the latter case, who will step up and admit a group is in crisis and needs help, when it was his decisions or that of his fellows that caused the crisis?</p> <p>I also find it interesting that very little is written on the mine and its operator. Some of the miners trapped had warned about the poor safety in the mine, but I don't know what (besides closing this particular mine) this tragedy will change. That would require thought and political action. The constant progress in the rescue, however, and the aboveground drama, made for excellent reality TV...</p>