The Berlin Wall, that is. Well, figuratively the Wall came down on November 9, 1989, when the East German government announced that East German citizens would be allowed to freely travel to West Germany. Crowds of East Berliners started streaming through the checkpoints. Crowds of West Berliners climbed on the Wall in celebration, and folks started physically chipping away at the concrete barriers. All broadcast live on television channels around the globe.

I'd gotten out of the US Navy a few months earlier. At the time, I had no idea that the Cold War was so close to ending, let alone that the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact would dissolve without a shot being fired. I watched the party on the Wall on television, and marveled.

That day demonstrated that we humans can get things right, every so often, without blowing ourselves to hell in the process. It’s a day I often remind myself of, when some fresh damnfoolishness shows up on the news, or in my social media streams.

Originally posted at http://edschweppe.dreamwidth.org/180119.html - comment wherever you please.