Monday, May 28, 2018

IMPRISONED BY THE WALL

Tomorrow, we Americans will build a wall.  The day after tomorrow, we will send our soldiers to guard the wall.  The day after that, our soldiers guarding the wall will start shooting anyone who tries to cross the wall.  The day after that, we will celebrate the wall's efficacy, and the day after that, our President will proclaim that Americans are finally free to live as our forefathers intended us to live - safely behind a wall guarded by soldiers who shoot anyone trying to cross it.

Many years ago, people built a wall between east and west in a place called Berlin.  The next day, soldiers appeared to guard the wall.  The day after that, soldiers guarding the wall started shooting anyone who tried to cross it.  The day after that, the wall builders celebrated their wall's efficacy and their leaders announced that those living behind the wall were finally free to live safely as their forefathers intended.

Many years later, an American President named Reagan scolded a Russian President named Gorbachev and demanded, "Tear down that wall!"  And when the wall in Berlin was torn down, the people living behind the wall were filled with elation over their newfound freedom.  They celebrated with singing and dancing in the streets, and when the last bit of the wall's concrete crumbled, they wept for joy till dawn.

For centuries, men have built walls to keep people out, only to discover that walls function best to keep people inside them.  And those inside are not free, for they are trapped behind walls of their own creation and imprisoned in a fortress with precious little room to breathe.

Americans have spent centuries expanding their horizons, and when they reached their physical limits, they began to spread their message of liberty across the globe.  They even reached out to touch the stars, but that was yesterday.

Today, we Americans are a fearful lot; a people seeking the false promise of protection from a wall that will imprison us.  Hopefully, years from now, a Russian President will scold an American President and demand, "Tear down that wall!"  And when the wall is torn down, our children and our grandchildren living behind the wall will be filled with elation over their newfound freedom.  They will celebrate with singing and dancing in the streets, and when the last bit of the wall's concrete crumbles, they will weep for joy till dawn.