Miracles have been mentioned a lot in the news these past two days.
The governor of West Virginia seemed genuinely upset 2 days ago when he was being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. The governor had lost some relatives in previous mine disasters and he was very concerned about the current mine situation.
At that time the situation was that there was no knowledge at all about the fate of any of the miners. The governor stated that in West Virginia people believed in miracles and he did too. Wolf Blitzer agreed that he too believed in miracles. Was Blitzer just trying to be agreeable in the face of a very miserable situation? I expect so.
Then one of the miners was found dead. There was still hope for and 12 miracles were prayed for.
Then the prayers were answered when it was announced that all 12 remaining miners were found alive. Halleluja! There was joy for three hours, but then things went massively wrong. The news was wrong and eleven of the twelve survivors were actually dead.
Then there was talk of one miracle. It so happens that the survivor was the youngest of the miners and perhaps his age and physical condition allowed him to linger a bit longer then his mates, just long enough to be rescued. Let's hope that his miracle includes no lasting brain damage from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The year 2005 was a record breaking year for the least number of mining fatalities; perhaps that was a miracle in its own right as it is a wonderful occurrance. Nonetheless some Democrats saw fit to blame the mine disaster on the President. A lot of people blamed it on the company, and no doubt there will be law suits galore. This disaster will be a financial miracle for some lawyers.
This was a truly sad affair compounded by some faulty reporting that was propagated at light speed. It was not misreported out of any meanness. It was a casualty of wishful thinking, of a deep desire for a Divine Miracle and happy ending.
To maintain rational and critical thinking in the face of a disaster like this mine explosion must be nearly impossible for those most intimately involved. I feel deeply sorry for the survivors who experienced the disaster and the foul-up.
There is such a strong thing inside of us to believe in anything that gives us hope regardless of the idea's merit. I have been puzzling over what the evolutionary/anthropological reason(s) might be for this.