'Tear down this wall!' [Mark Steyn]

Jerusalem Post ^ | June 8, 2004 | Mark Steyn

[Alouette]

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[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Free State Four]

It was the era of "d tente," a word barely remembered now

And if you can remember the other meaning of SALT, you win! fsf

[ntnychik]

The four monosyllables are what will be remembered, but I love the whole section of the speech:

"General Secretary Gorbachev,
if you seek peace,
if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,
if you seek liberalization,
come here to this gate.
Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.
Mr. Gorbachev...(said over wild cheering)
Mr. Gorbachev, tear DOWN this wall."

[RedWhiteBlue]

bookmark bump

[Ruth A.]

It was the era of "d tente," a word barely remembered now, which is just as well since it reflects poorly on us: the presidents and prime ministers of the free world had decided that the unfree world was not a prison ruled by a murderous ideology that had to be defeated, but merely an alternative lifestyle that had to be accommodated.

This is the current attitude being promoted towards homosexuality. It, too, must be brought down.

[Ruth A.]

Strategic
Arms
Limitation
Treaty

[Mia T]

wonderful.

[dk88]

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.

And SALT II.
Sheesh. I was about 11.

[Rocko]

Bumpttt.

[McGavin999]

The problem is, Edmund Morris was too small a man to write the history of a man like Ronald Reagan. He just wasn't up to the task.

[Free State Four]

SALT

Yes. You both win. And I, too, was only about 11 (or thereabouts) when I first read about it. It made my head spin. But I didn't figure out for many years that it was a ploy by the Soviets to tie our hands while they caught up with us. RWR stopped that nonsense by smashing them financially and technologically. :O) fsf

[SWake]

I heard Ed Meese on Tony Snow's show talking about this speech. In the original draft, President Reagan wanted to say "Tear DOWN this wall". Through the vetting process, the State Department dropped that line. President Reagan put it back in. State suggested "PLEASE open this gate". The President struck the word "PLEASE".

And when he gave the speech, he inserted "tear DOWN this wall" without State's approval.

HA!

[jla]

Mia...In case you haven't seen this. I'm pretty sure you'll appreciate it.

Thank you, Alouette.

[ntnychik]

Yes, that's a true story. Peter Robinson, a Reagan speechwriter tells about the Berlin speech in his book How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. I'm impressed how much RR's staffers loved him.

[Free State Four]

The problem is, Edmund Morris was too small a man to write the history of a man like Ronald Reagan. He just wasn't up to the task.

Amen, and Amen! fsf

[EveningStar]

What was that line at the end of The Bridges at Toko-Ri?:

Where do we get such men?

[MamaLucci]

Morris may not have heard the splash, but he's still all wet: The elites were stupid about Reagan in a way that only clever people can be. Take that cheap crack: If you drop a pebble in a well and you don't hear a splash, it may be because the well is dry, but it's just as likely it's because the well is of surprising depth.

Steyn is BRILLIANT. Good read.

[arasina]

It's a moment I will always remember. I have a little chunk of that Berlin Wall stored away to give to my niece someday, together with a history lesson about its importance.