The 11/9 Anniversary
| Mon Nov. 9, 2009 7:05 AM PST
Today, November 9, is the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I would like to associate myself with these comments by Matt Yglesias:
It’s hard to think of non-cliché things to say on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.... [Life in East Germany in its final days] is the subject of two excellent films, Good Bye, Lenin! and The Lives of Others, that everyone should see. I’m not really clear how representative daily life in the GDR was of everyday existence in other Eastern Bloc countries, but since as far as I know there aren’t excellent movies about daily life in Communist Poland or Communist Bulgaria this is probably how we’ll remember things.
One somewhat clichéd idea about November 9 that's still worth considering today is the argument that in the grand scheme of things, 11/9 was more historically significant than 9/11. Victor Sebestyen, who has written a book about the revolutions of 1989, has a decent column on this subject over at the Guardian. I especially liked this part of his argument:
Last, but not least, 9 November was gloriously happy. Anything seemed possible that night. 11 September was a day that sparked panic and fear. I know which is a better 9/11 to remember.
We can probably all agree on that.
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Comments
"I would like to associate
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon Nov. 9, 2009 12:46 PM PST.
"I would like to associate myself with these comments by Matt Yglesias"
I've never figured what that means except it makes you seem like a total douchebag.
How can you associate with someone else's words without their permission, or endorsement, or being their fuckbuddy or something?
Why not just do what us proletariats do and say, "I agree with Matt Yglesias."
Try it. Restrain your inherent d-bagness.
A Very Special Anniversary
Submitted by Andrew J. Lederer (not verified) on Mon Nov. 9, 2009 4:29 PM PST.
the berlin wall
Submitted by Marton Radkai (not verified) on Tue Nov. 10, 2009 12:20 AM PST.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/1...
It would be great if Matt Yglesias would ask some people about life there, people who had experienced it. I wrote the above for the BG (a rare moment as a freelance journalist).
Then as now, the interest in Europe from the USA was literally nil, which is why the event surprised everyone. I wrote my first piece on the GDR in 1986 (a year before Reagan's posturing at the wall), but no one was interested. The fact that that horrible border was coming down was pretty obvious, all you had to do was speak with people. But the media were not interested (neither MJ), because it would have destroyed a great hype machine, the wall itself.
As for the "leaders," they kept that wall going for a long time, because it was great for everyone with a need for power. Everyone got something out of it, especially the arms industry.
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