Christine Smith's Blog

Today – Anniversary of the Fall of The Berlin Wall

Today, November 9, 2008, marks the 19th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  It serves as a powerful reminder of the power of the human spirit of freedom to prevail against tyranny. 

The stories of resistance and escapes are fascinating.  To see the imagination, courageous determination and heroism of a people against oppression stands to give us hope today.  Tyranny cannot prevail against the human spirit.  It may cause suffering and death with its violent opposition to liberty, but I believe it will always fail.

In my exploration to learn more about its history and collapse, I find it inspires me just as I remember it did in 1989.

I share the following links which I found, along with others, to be informative and interesting:

brief historical summary/timelines/etc.:
http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum/exhibits/berlin_wall/index.htm

another informative site:
http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysoft.com%2Fberlinwall%2F

and photo albums:
http://www.mauer.jp/htmls/gallery_e.html

As I consider its demise and all that meant and stands for, I also find myself hoping that the United States is not successful in its building of its own Wall of Shame to stop the free movement of civilians.  

Of course, just as the building of the Berlin Wall was rationalized to the world, if this government does ever complete such a wall on our southern border they will claim it justified for the very same reasons: protection, security, the economy, etc.  And all the “reasons” given are meant to appeal to people’s emotionalism of fear and all the feelings it can cause in them.  

Fear should never do the choosing between right and wrong; fear should never be the basis for any decision in life.  I believe that love (which if truly love, naturally includes a respect for another’s freedom as one respects their own) to be the only consideration in the making of any decision in life.