I was on active duty during the Cold War and fulfilled my committment several years before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I recall with wonderful joy the day the Berlin Wall fell.
One of the most visible symbols of the repression of humanity, economic destruction, and systematized tyranny disappeared. Apparently in a day.
That was a delight.
In a very short time, dozens and hundreds of millions of people regained freedom in oh so many countries.
Indeed, November 9, 1989 is a grand day to celebrate.
May that continue to be a specific day that we can rejoice in a season lasting several years when we saw the massive spread of political, economic, and religious freedom in so many places around the world.
Memories have faded of just how horrible things were when the Soviet bear repressed much of the world and threatened the rest. What a joy for that to be in the past.
Update 1: For those whose memory is fuzzy on the concept, there were mine fields, concertina wire atop tall walls, and gunners who would shoot anyone trying to get over the wall. Many people were killed trying to escape the worker’s paradise. Check out the New York Times for one of many possible stories – On Berlin Wall Anniversary, Somber Notes Amid Revelry.
Update 2: From Glenn Reynolds’ link to the above story:
Communism was — and is, still — sold as something moral. But it’s a system of slavery, benefiting a few at the top at the expense of the many beneath. It was enforced by death and cruelty, because without death and cruelty it couldn’t work even for a little while.
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