November 9 marks the 18th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Steve Young writes about his trip to East Berlin in 1970 and what he learned about freedom.
November 9 marked the eighteenth anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall. That anniversary is one that I remember with reverence because of a visit I made to East Berlin before the fall of the Soviet empire.
When I was sixteen, my family moved to Germany while my father worked on a civilian team upgrading the Army's missile defense system in Europe. My family lived for eighteen months in Germany at the height of the Cold War, and traveled Europe to the extent my father's schedule permitted.
To get to Berlin, my family boarded a U.S. Army "duty train" in Frankfurt. The duty train was the U.S.'s link to Berlin and crossed East Germany every day. The East Germans restricted the duty train to a night time schedule. The duty train would leave Frankfurt late in the evening, and arrive in West Berlin at morning's first light.
On the train, I shared a sleeper car with my two younger brothers. I did not sleep much that night and I kept opening the window shades because I wanted to see what a communist country looked like. I saw only darkness.
My family spent several days in West Berlin, most of which I have little memory – but I profoundly remember the day my family went to East Berlin. We were on a chartered tour. The double decker red bus, with a wide white stripe on its side traveled through West Berlin with a constant stream of tour guide commentary. That changed at Check Point Charlie -- the crossing into East Berlin. Our tour guide left the bus at the guard station on the American side of Checkpoint Charlie. We crossed an open space with concrete tank traps called "dragons’ teeth," rolls of barbed wire, and machine gun placements. Upon entering the Russian sector, a new guide boarded.
Someone else left the bus before leaving the American sector – my father. The American government would not allow him to enter East Berlin. He was an American asset our government would not expose to risk. I did not learn until years after he retired that he was working on the delivery system for NATO’s nuclear arsenal.
My time in East Berlin was uneventful, but poignant. To this day, I do not know why the sun did not shine while I was in East Berlin – I still ponder whether it was a product of my patriotic imagination, or the collective angst of a suppressed people. We toured a large museum and saw sights on the bus ride around East Berlin, but no sight impressed me more than my father waiting with the American soldiers on our return to the American side.
On the train ride back to West Germany, I did not open the sleeper car shades – I had seen all I wanted of East Germany. When I left Berlin, I had learned what repression looks like, and why the world needs America to be strong and resolute, to stand up to those who threaten our freedom.
In the years since my trip to East Berlin, I have wondered where the darkness arose. I concluded that darkness came from fear of those wielding power. I feared I would not get out of East Berlin. I feared I would not see my father again. I feared the unseen and the unknown from which the threat arose.
I see Americans with the same feelings. Now, seemingly every government act exasperates the people, and every refusal to act excites their contempt. Have you ever bit your tongue while standing in an airport security line, because you felt your patriotism demeaned, your dedication to America questioned, and your personal privacy trampled? Do you express your feelings, or do you stand mute lest the TSA tap you out for further search, or detainment, or tasing, or worse, as with the woman who died in TSA custody after allegedly yelling at a TSA searcher?
Our leaders should instill courage – not trepidation, empower us to greatness – not tax us into submission, envision a bright future of freedom – rather than project the darkness of governmental tyranny. America is a nation of moderate, cautious people with a reform bent, and a "can do spirit." To break through the darkness, America must be a country of opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all. We all want a strong, free and secure America. In this there are no parties, for all Americans understand how important our freedom and security are.
These values matter. If you agree, visit My Values and contribute to the Steve Young for Congress Campaign.