It is often, falsely and cynically, argued that there is no such thing as a "global community." The events near Chang Rai — with 12 boys from a local soccer team and their coach trapped in a cave — powerfully underscore two facts of life we would do well to remember.
First, a global community very much exists. And second, it can have very positive effects on the lives and well-being of people. After all, the mission resulted in the rescue of all those who were feared lost.
This is not to say that local and national authorities in Thailand did not do their utmost to rescue the boys. They did, foremost among them the Thai Navy SEALs.