When We Hit the Wall
Eighteen years ago today the Berlin Wall became irrelevant. I was in Berlin when it happened. About one million people from east block nations, starving for freedom, flooded into West Berlin in a matter of hours. The whole city was “standing room only” as people exercised the kind of freedom that we take for granted. My father, younger brother, Cam, and I shuffled our way through the chaos until we arrived at the Brandenburg Gate. Cam and I scaled the wall to stand alongside East and West Germans amid the tears and cheers. It was euphoric. And there was no question which side of the wall people wanted to be on. As we stood on the wall, East Berlin, which lay behind us, was empty. However, from the ten-foot slab of concrete we stood on to the horizon — literally on the side of freedom — was an ocean of people.
People want to be free. Some barriers to freedom are physical, like the Berlin Wall was. Some are social, like those formed by bigotry, intolerance, and other forms of injustice. Finally, some barriers are mental, like the limits we impose on ourselves out of fear or ignorance. When we encounter one of these barriers there is only one logical response: Get a pick ax and tear it down.
Anyway, thanks again for the trip down memory lane!