Let Them Come To Berlin

Quote of the day, courtesy of Ronald Reagan: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

This past week, America’s Commander-in-Chief unleashed a wrecking ball on our democracy. He federalized the National Guard and deployed U.S. Marines to create a domestic crisis. Staged a birthday military parade. Threatened to unleash “very heavy force” on peaceful protesters in the nation’s capital. Then, elected officials from the “enemy” party were assassinated in Minnesota.

By sheer coincidence, I observed these events from Berlin – a powerful vantage point. This city lived through a tyrannical leader’s carnage. Its museums and monuments expose Germany’s darkest history — set in motion by Kristallnacht, Hitler’s 1939 military birthday parade, and The Night of the Long Knives. Chilling parallels to this past week in Los Angeles, D.C., and Minnesota. 

In Berlin today, citizens live in a functioning civil society. But Hitler caused millions of ordinary Germans to commit unspeakable atrocities. How? Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect describes how tyrants turn decent people into agents of evil. Claim total authority. Dehumanize opponents. Stoke fear and hate. Encourage violence. Justify with big lies. The Mein Kampf playbook. Evident in an America where citizens storm the Capitol and gun down elected officials. Fueled by hate-filled vengeance.

 Yet . . .

In Berlin today, we see stunning evidence of a good and great America. The bunker where Hitler committed suicide in the face of U.S.-led forces. Where JFK condemned the Berlin Wall as “an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing a people who wish to be joined together.” Where the U.S.S.R. – no paragon of efficiency -- built a serious wall, not a flimsy border wall that falls over in a stiff breeze. Where Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate demanded: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," ultimately forcing the Soviet Empire to collapse. Berlin, showcasing America at its best.

On Saturday, the “No Kings” protests offered inspiration, as millions of legitimate American patriots protested the actions of “America’s Hitler” (J.D. Vance’s words, not mine).  Clever signs abounded:  

But one sign resonated. A sign that ought to be the mantra for citizens who cherish a nation that fought for justice and freedom. In Gettysburg. In Selma. In Seneca Falls. In Berlin.

Those hoping to find America’s greatness in a staged D.C. military parade will be sorely disappointed. But JFK, just months before he was assassinated, pointed us where America’s true greatness is on full display: “Let them come to Berlin.”

Nervously,

Ted

Photo taken yesterday at sunset at Berlin’s Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe: