Vodkapundit reminds us that today is the fifteenth anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. I had been stationed in Berlin for three years and had returned to the states a mere month before this tremendous crack in the seemingly-unshakable Soviet edifice. As we know, the rest of the Warsaw Pact would follow and, not long afterward, the Soviet Union would be no more.
The lessons are many, but here are some simple ones:
- Sometimes people can free themselves; on other occasions, they may need help.
- A bully will talk a lot, but if you’re tougher and more tenacious than he is, he will go only so far.
- Never spend more than you can afford.
- Never leave town right before the fun starts (okay, that's my personal lesson). :-)
Here’s to more liberty.
(Old Berlin map found here.)
UPDATE: One night in Berlin.
