If we've forgotten or perhaps never learned, here's a reminder in breathtaking color:
I remember that morning. And I have my mother to thank.
It was just before school, I was in the bathroom finishing my hair. My mother called me to her bedroom, where she sat on the edge of her bed glued to the television.
That was an odd sight in itself. Mom was too busy in the mornings fixing breakfast and getting everyone out the door to stop.
Yet she stopped.
"Come in here," she yelled. "I want you to see this."
I walked in, seeing images of a large, graffiti enriched wall being busted into pieces.
"Never forget today. This is a monumental moment in history, Tara. Today, Communism died. Don't ever forget. Remember it. You'll understand the fullness of what this moment means as you get older."
And I did.
That moment, not fully understanding why this meant so much to my mother, I marked it in my memory. Something had happened that day. A shift had occurred. Freedom and goodness had overcome evil. People cheered and smiled and cried, a collaboration of relief and promise I could not grasp. I knew nothing but freedom. I understood nothing but individual rights.
Yet there they were, throngs of them climbing and chipping away at a brick wall, more aware of what I possessed than myself.
We haven't experienced the full extent of communistic oppression, though the fringe left thirsts for it. Despite the interference and dictations of government, we're still a free people, free in our very blood, and rightfully endowed with our Creator's plan for humanity.
It isn't far off, however. It isn't all that distant a memory until we, too, could forgo our most humanistic trait of being free, all in the name of compassion that kills and tolerance that imprisons. Our own President and Vice-President are too busy to attend this event, too otherwise occupied to honor the end of governmental slavery and death.
We, the people and breath of this great nation, cannot forget.
Therefore, like my mother before me, I implore you to remember this day. Remember the mark of this great victory. Remember the empty taste of freedom than never quenched until that oppressive wall crumbled into chalky dust. Remember that we once had a President who fought for such things, a President who earnestly believed in the right of mankind to govern themselves under God. A President who shouted the words that resonate across time and corrupt governance:
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Here is that infamous speech which sent the first crack into that cemented symbol of oppression.
And two years later, the wall came down.
1 comment:
Loved this post, Tara, and the video of President Reagan! Very well written and heartfelt.
Post a Comment