One wall . . . and one truth

The Washington Times ^ | April 10, 2005 | Terence P. Jeffrey

[lizol]

One wall . . . and one truth

By Terence P. Jeffrey

Western liberals who believe God must be expelled from public life and law to preserve liberty should examine how a Protestant U.S. president and Polish pope explained the final days of an Evil Empire. Both Ronald Reagan and John Paul II said it was religious faith that triumphed over Soviet communism.

If there was one prophetic moment pointing to that triumph, it came June 12, 1987. Reagan was in Berlin and John Paul II was in Gdansk, Poland. But their message was the same.

On his way to Berlin, Reagan stopped in Rome to meet with the pontiff. "Perhaps it's not too much to hope that true change will come to all countries that now deny or hinder the freedom to worship God," he told the pope. "And perhaps we'll see that change come through the re-emergence of faith, through the irresistible power of a religious renewal."

Six days later, Reagan uttered his famous challenge, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." But almost never quoted in the liberal press is the story Reagan told to end his Berlin speech.

"Years ago," said Reagan, "before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure -- the television tower at Alexander Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today, when the sun strikes that sphere -- that sphere that towers over all Berlin -- the light makes the sign of the cross. There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed.

[lizol]

[spanalot]

The Pope, Reagan, Thatcher and $14/barrel oil is what put the Kremlin out of business.

And given that Marx's material dialectic tries to make the claim that Ideals are phoney, there is a lot to be said for religion winning over communism.

[DaveTesla]

As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner: "This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality."

Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall, for it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand the truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.

And I would like, before I close, to say one word. I have read, and I have been questioned since I've been here about certain demonstrations against my coming. And I would like to say just one thing, and to those who demonstrate so. I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they're doing again.

Thank you and God bless you all. Thank you.

Ronald Reagan: Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rreaganbrandenburggate.htm