The Berlin Wall

On a recent visit to Berlin, I had the opportunity to visit what little remains of the Berlin Wall. It was with a myriad of emotions that I touched and even wrote on the wall (only to find out later that the practice is frowned on by many Germans) and stood at its base and thought about what freedom means, including the fear, sorrow, joy, and opportunities. As I studied Checkpoint Charlie, I gave thought to the famous John F. Kennedy speech “Ich bin ein Berliner” and of course the significant “tear down this wall, Mr. Gorbachev” speech from 1987.

I read of the nearly 200 who lost their lives trying to cross the wall, of the families divided, of a city polarized by governments, and of the pervading darkness that loomed for 96 miles throughout the city and country. I thought about the residences destroyed, the hatred of the obstacle, and the harboring fear that accompanied the monstrosity—a fear experienced by all sides and by all people. The wall was erected out of fear and possibly taken down out of a different kind of fear—the rising tide of a demand for freedom.

As the socialist government and the leaders designed the “perfect” world for their people, they recognized that restrictions would have to be imposed and blockades built in order to prevent access to the outside world. For if the people knew of the potential that existed, the freedoms that others enjoyed, they just might reject their current bonds and seek liberty. Yet the longer the people remain in darkness, the more comfortable they might become and in fact may prefer life apart from freedom; at least that is often the surmising of the enslaver. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the people in chains believe that the shadows they see are the actual people and not the shadows. When free, they become frightened and return to the world of darkness and shadows. The Wall was erected to force people to live in a socialistic framework and to hide the benefits of capitalism. The Wall also instilled in the people a fear of authority.

To be sure, not all facets of socialism are necessarily negative. In its ideal form, socialism is simply about the individuals working for the good of the collective whole. In some ways, this concept is related to utilitarianism in that decisions are made for the moral good. But the fundamental difference lies in the area of freedom of choice. In a socialistic state, the choices are made by the governing bodies for the good of the whole apart from the individual requirements. With this doctrine goes the denouncing of privately owned materials including any property. In some ways, the argument is a solid one in that those who are less fortunate gain from the working efforts of those assigned to a particular duty or to produce a particular product. Unfortunately, the realistic result is the shackling of personal rights and the inevitable lack of production by individuals without incentive to reach for greater potential.

When freedom of choice is erased, and there is little reason for productivity, humans tend to produce less, hoping to gain from the effort of others. Forced collective effort under the guise of corporate gain deters individual creativity and work ethic. It is capitalism, even with its oft-touted social ills, that produces the greatest results—cities, roads, technology, and the myriad of great benefits enjoyed in our culture.

So back to the Berlin Wall. The nearly 30 years of division between West and East Germany ended in November of 1989 giving the people the right to make their own decisions on where to live and how to live. The result has been a marked improvement in economy, culture, and mostly individual creative effort, proving once again that the rising tide of the human spirit cannot be and should not be hindered.

This article also appears in Forte, The Magazine for Fort Worth and West Texas. For more information about Forte go to www.fortepublications.com.