One of the divisive structures of the last century was the Berlin Wall. This writer looked over it from West Berlin to Communist East Germany before it was torn down by the German people themselves 20 years ago.
It was a frightening experience, looking at people who had no say so in their lives from an island of freedom separated from them by a concrete wall. Then along came a guy named Ronald Reagan who did not give in to communist oppression of half the world.
“Tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbachev,” he said to the Russian premier in his usual dramatic tone as though it was part of a movie script. Mr. Gorbachev did not tear it down but the cry gave Germans the hope that their country could once again be united in freedom after years of oppression under fascist and communist dictatorships. It also undoubtedly let the communists know that their objective of controlling the world under their system of government was faced by strong forces that demanded freedom.
The wall soon came down, on Nov. 9, 1989, demolished by the German people themselves who had suffered enough. This helped end the cold war and communist domination of half the world. It also emphasized that determination by the free world can win over evil forces that exist.
And therein is a lesson to learn in stopping the terrorism that plagues us. By getting freedom-loving people on the same track, we can put an end to it by helping people build effective democracies that can control those evil forces and live safely in a system that preserves their freedom.
When people ask why we have forces in the mid-east and other trouble spots around the world, that is the answer.
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