ext_25741 (
lazypadawan.livejournal.com) wrote in
therightfangirl2009-11-09 04:06 pm
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20 Years of The Fall Of The Wall
The Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War and Soviet domination of Central/Eastern Europe, starting coming down this week 20 years ago. Having been born into a world where there was East Germany and West Germany, East Berlin and West Berlin, it was astonishing to see. I was in college at the time and it vindicated everything President Reagan, Lady Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, etc. were trying to do that entire decade. And it blew the Yay, Global Socialism dreams of my professors out of the water, heh heh. Germany would be reunified a year later, Czechoslovakia would amically split into two countries, and the Soviet Union itself would collapse in less than two years.
Those on the left tend to ignore Reagan's leadership and overpraise Mikhail Gorbachev's "contribution." Gorby's contribution was trying too late to save a crashing plane. He knew the bottom was about to fall out of Soviet Communism and that whole glasnost/perestroika thing or trying to negotiate with the West were his last ditch attempts to save it. Reagan outmaneuvered him over SDI and outspent the Soviets on defense. That was the beginning of the end.
Unfortunately, while the Russkies are lovin' that capitalism, we failed to tear down the Berlin Wall in our own country. The threat to freedom we face today doesn't come from Vladimir Putin, it comes from our own Congress and our own President. I never thought I'd live to see the day where Pravda sounds less like government propaganda than ABC News. Melanie Phillips wrote this piece for the Daily Mail that nails it as far as I'm concerned:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1226211/MELANIE-PHILLIPS-We-fools-think-fall-Berlin-Wall-killed-far-Left-Theyre--attacking-within.html
Those on the left tend to ignore Reagan's leadership and overpraise Mikhail Gorbachev's "contribution." Gorby's contribution was trying too late to save a crashing plane. He knew the bottom was about to fall out of Soviet Communism and that whole glasnost/perestroika thing or trying to negotiate with the West were his last ditch attempts to save it. Reagan outmaneuvered him over SDI and outspent the Soviets on defense. That was the beginning of the end.
Unfortunately, while the Russkies are lovin' that capitalism, we failed to tear down the Berlin Wall in our own country. The threat to freedom we face today doesn't come from Vladimir Putin, it comes from our own Congress and our own President. I never thought I'd live to see the day where Pravda sounds less like government propaganda than ABC News. Melanie Phillips wrote this piece for the Daily Mail that nails it as far as I'm concerned:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1226211/MELANIE-PHILLIPS-We-fools-think-fall-Berlin-Wall-killed-far-Left-Theyre--attacking-within.html
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Though Hasselhoff showed, (wtf?)
I remember my parents watching it come down. They were cheering and excited. I asked them what was going on. That's how I learned about communism.
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