On Ronald Wilson Reagan
Monday, June 11, 2007 1:20 PM
| Monday, June 11, 2007 |
| Celebrating Reagan’s Famous Line |
| Posted by: Matt Lewis at 12:13 PM |
Thanks Matt for the links!!
Twenty Years After “Tear Down This Wall”
By George Allen
Monday, June 11, 2007
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” It was our generation’s equivalent to “Remember the Alamo!” This month we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this wonderful declaration for the cause of freedom on behalf of repressed people in Central and Eastern Europe. We should renew our shared commitment with our allies in Europe because it is the transatlantic relationship that is America’s anchor for global engagement.
Although Ronald Reagan’s words must have seemed like only a dream, they resonated in the hearts of East Berliners who led restricted, hopeless lives. The dream of freedom did come true because of the steadfast, essential political and logistical support of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The moral compass was provided by the respected Pope John Paul II. And Lech Walesa, behind the Iron Curtain in Poland, had freedom lovers all over the world in solidarity with their cause.
Hitting the Wall: Reagan’s Prophetic Berlin Speech, 20 Years Later
By John Fund
Monday, June 11, 2007
Rip Van Winkle has nothing on Jan Grzebski, a Polish railway worker who just emerged from a coma that began 19 years ago–just prior to the collapse of communism in his country. His take on how the world around him has changed beyond recognition comes at an appropriate time. It was 20 years ago tomorrow that Ronald Reagan electrified millions behind the Iron Curtain by standing in front of the Berlin Wall demanding: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Mr. Grzebski is, of course, thrilled to see the wife who cared for him and the 11 grandchildren he didn’t even know he had. But he is also shocked at how his homeland has changed. “When I went into a coma, there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed, and huge gas lines were everywhere,” he told Polish TV. “Now I see people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin. What amazes me is all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and never stop moaning. I’ve got nothing to complain about.”
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