Did you know that Americans were involved in the Chile mine rescue? I may have been tangentially aware that American engineers and know-how were involved, but amid the 24/7 news coverage of the final days of the rescue, it’s not something that I focused on. In fact, looking back, I’m really surprised I didn’t focus more on that and devote a blog post to it. Perhaps the media chose not to focus on the American role and that’s why I didn’t pick up on it? This report from News Busters suggests that the media made a political calculation to downplay the American role. Well, perhaps, but I don’t normally credit the media with that kind of monolithic control over content. On the other hand, you would expect that every country whose citizens played a role in the rescue would celebrate their involvement. They are heroes as well. The video below shows an interview with Jeff Hart, the American that operated the drill during the rescue operation. Hearing the personal perspective of his first-hand account really brings home the amazing international collaboration that contributed to making this rescue one for the history books.
