Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! Reagan’s speech to the people of Berlin 12 June 1987
SLIDESHOW: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city
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: Let us work to bring the Eastern and Western
Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall, for it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom
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a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city
Yet, it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly; here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the w
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That’s something his critics never got about Reagan
“He always felt that it happened because the people made it happen, and he was happy to have helped them in any way possible.”
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this wall will fall
He meant every word. The Wall came down, two years and five months after Reagan’s speech
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Tear down this wall,” he meant: “Tear down this wall!
es, across Europe, this wall will fall, for it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom
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Reagan’s speech to the people of Berlin 12 June 1987
We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it’s our duty to speak in this place of freedom. But I must confess, we’re drawn here by other things as well; by the feeling of history in this city — more than 50
He meant every word. The Wall came down, two years and five months after Reagan’s speech. Fittingly, it was torn down by the German people. So effective had been the break-out of the Eastern Bloc that by late 1989, Gorbachev was no longer the one who had to tear the Wall down.
I think Reagan would be the first to say that it was the people of Eastern Europe who seized their future. He would not take credit for what they did, and he would be right to efface himself. But the courage and ingenuity of the people do need a champion, and that’s what Reagan was. His philosophy is vindicated wherever people insist on and demonstrate their ability to outdo the limits set for them by small-minded governments and ideologues. It is hard to let others be free, but Reagan knew that the rewards are tremendous, and worth giving up the urge to exercise control.
He meant every word. The Wall came down, two years and five months after Reagan’s speech. Fittingly, it was torn down by the German people. So effective had been the break-out of the Eastern Bloc that by late 1989, Gorbachev was no longer the one who had to tear the Wall down.
I think Reagan would be the first to say that it was the people of Eastern Europe who seized their future. He would not take credit for what they did, and he would be right to efface himself. But the courage and ingenuity of the people do need a champion, and that’s what Reagan was. His philosophy is vindicated wherever people insist on and demonstrate their ability to outdo the limits set for them by small-minded governments and ideologues. It is hard to let others be free, but Reagan knew that the rewards are tremendous, and worth giving up the urge to exercise control.
Read More: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/06/12/mr-gorbachev...
Much has been written about this. The one that stands out is Constantine Pleshakov’s “There is Freedom Without Bread!” which explains why Communists failed, literally, to deliver the goods to the people. They promised bread but produced food shortages and rationing-- except for Party members. It was just a matter of time.