Contrast

We are all celebrating the rescue of the 12 soccer players and their coach from the deep, dark cave in Thailand by the brave Thai Navy Seals who carried out the complicated and dangerous rescue plan.

How did the boys survive with enough physical and psychological strength to make the frightening journey out of the cave? They had two huge advantages. First, the team was with their coach, someone they trusted and who knew each of them well. Secondly, the boys had each other. I imagine that they cuddled together for warmth and held each other as they tried not to cry or shiver in panic.

So, we're thankful for the rescue team, the coach, and the team itself, for not giving up when the odds of success were so low.

Contrast this miracle with the case of the children separated from their parents at our southern border.

After a dangerous journey seeking asylum in the United States, and after being taken from their parents, at least 2,000 children had no one to hold them as they sat in cage-like enclosures; no one, no team, to say, "I'm with you." Many were flown in dark of night to cities deep into our country only to be lost by those who promised to reunite them with their parents.

July 10 was the deadline for the "separated" to be united with family, but many will remain "lost" children. For them, the wait will continue. Alone.

--Carolyn Cress, Pullman