On June 12th, 1987, US president Ronald Reagan delivered a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate, challenging the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbatchev to dismantle the Berlin Wall:
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!“
Just like John F. Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner!” nearly a quarter of a century earlier (June 26th, 1963), President Reagan’s emotional outburst was deeply moving. Would the dream of a world without borders finally come true? Could we overcome the Cold War just by convincing our opponent to open his heart and to lower his guard? Could it really be so easy?
Realists brushed this landmark speech aside; some even went so far as to accuse it of being an aggressive provocation and warned that the Soviets might retaliate and that we could all get badly hurt. Yet, just two years later, Hungary started opening the border fence with Austria on May 2nd, 1989. With a large exodus of over 900 East Germans over this border, exactly 20 years ago on August 19, 1989, the ice was broken and it was just a matter of time until most of Europe was finally free.
If even the coldest of all cold monsters can be convinced to warm up to the basic idea of dropping the walls that separate and to build bridges that link, how much easier does it seem to convince just one estranged friend to drop the walls she puts around her! But, to quote Albert Einstein: “It is easier to split an atom than to break a prejudice.”
Some people, even the most warmhearted and open minded, desperately cling to their prejudices. They’ve built themselves a prison of thoughts and negative emotions, and are so afraid of experiencing the freedom beyond their self-imposed jail, that they’ll growl and even lash out at everyone who tries to set them free from the outside. Just like the Soviets did back then with all their display of weaponry and their threatening posture. But a change of heart is always possible.
So let me today, on this 20th anniversary appeal to all those little fearful creatures hiding and shaking behind their walls:
“Open this gate, and look what’s beyond: a wonderful world you were afraid to explore. Spread your wings and fly, high above the ground, and discover new horizons you never knew. Visit friends you’ve deserted in the past: they’ll welcome you with open arms. Read books you thought you shouldn’t read: they’ll open your eyes. Think positively, for a change: it’ll make you and all the people you interact with happier. Yes, you can do it, if you only wanted: tear down this wall!“
August 31st, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Nikita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wBEA_PYnE
Hey Nikita is it cold,
In your little corner of the world?
You could roll around the globe,
And never find a warmer soul to know.
Oh I saw you by the wall,
Ten of your tin soldiers in a row,
With eyes that looked like ice on fire:
The human heart a captive in the snow.
Oh Nikita you will never know,
Anything about my home.
I’ll never know how good
It feels to hold you:
Nikita I need you so!
Oh Nikita is the other side,
Of any given line in time.
Counting ten tin soldiers in a row:
Oh no, Nikita you’ll never know.
Do you ever dream of me?
Do you ever see the letters that I write?
When you look up through the wire,
Nikita do you count the stars at night?
And if there comes a time,
Guns and gates no longer hold you in!
And if you’re free to make a choice,
Just look towards the west and find a friend.
Oh Nikita you will never know,
Anything about my home.
I’ll never know how good
It feels to hold you: (oh no!)
Nikita you’ll never know!
Oh Nikita you will never know,
Never know anything about my home.
I’ll never know how good
It feels to hold you:
Nikita I need you so!
Oh Nikita you’re the other side,
Of any given line in time.
Counting ten tin soldiers in a row:
Oh no, Nikita you’ll never know…