So, this passed Saturday marked the fiftieth anniversary of an event most of the world would like to forget, or at least most wish had never happened. People in Berlin went to bed on August 12, and woke up on August 13 to find that a wall had been built providing a physical barrier that was stronger than the political barriers that had already been in place between east and west.
The date was marked in Germany by remembering those who died trying to flee Communist controlled East Berlin. Those fleeing sought freedom. They gave their lives for it.
This spring, we have all witnessed the power of people seeking freedom and liberty for themselves and their countries. The so-called Arab Spring has created a movement of people looking for the opportunity to self-govern, and to achieve greater economic liberty and secure freedom of speech. In Tunisia and Egypt, relentless peaceful protests served notice to dictators who take for granted that they have quashed the will of their people. Sure, there was some violence along the way, but by and large, these two nations struggled for freedom with a united and peaceful determination.
The human spirit and the desire to be free doesn't die easily. The many who died fleeing East Berlin are proof of that fact. The small percentage of those who fled successfully also shine light on that spirit.
As we watch the Middle East from afar, the amazing progression of events is nearly unfathomable. As narrow-minded Westerners, it's often difficult for us to look passed some of the more fundamentalist ideals of extreme Islam and remember that extremism the exception, not the rule. That's actually why it's called extremism.
The success of protesters in Tunisia and Egypt has been an inspiration to the world, not least of all neighboring countries. Libyans, Syrians and Yemenis also continue to struggle for their own freedom, though not always with as much success in the realm of doing so without violence. It has been a hard fought road for them so far, and it will be a hard road for a long time to come.
More surprising than these uprisings is the fact that success doesn't always lead to, well, success. In listening to an interview with Tawakkol Karman on National Public Radio this week, one of the things most of us watching take for granted is that overthrowing oppressive governments and dictatorships leads to a life of 'happily ever after' for the people of these nations. Twakkol Karman is a leading activist and journalist in Yemen. In her interview, Karman talks about the fact that struggling for freedom is difficult, but having a plan after overthrowing oppression has to be part of the struggle. She talks about the difficulties facing Tunisians and Egyptians because the groundwork for a future of freedom were not already in place by the time their oppressive regimes fell. Those countries now find themselves playing catch up.
It seems like being free would solve everything, doesn't it? But without a plan, what do you do with freedom? If you think about it, even eight-year-old Kevin McCallister had a plan in the movie "Home Alone." Granted, it was to order a lovely cheese pizza, and use his dad's razor, but it was a plan nevertheless.
Last summer, East Germans marked another anniversary--this was the twentieth anniversary of the reunification of Germany. Today, only a small section of the wall remains. It is the canvas for murals by many international artists--a symbol of turning something horrible into something beautiful.
In another NPR interview from last week, writer Hogler Teschke talks about the years since the destruction of the wall and how many East Berliners still have never even set foot in West Berlin, and vice versa. It's as if some invisible barrier remains between the two. He quotes his friend, Elizabeth Mann-Borgese, who says that "it is actually not very easy to learn to be a free person. And that sounds very simple and banal, but it is not if you have not learned it from your childhood on."
I think it's inconceivable to those of us who have been free all of our lives to consider that while we all may seek to be free, the act of being free isn't necessarily a natural state. Being free is a learned behavior.
As the survivor of a very oppressive household growing up, I identify very much with the idea of having to learn how to be "free." While I never suffered torture, beatings, economic reprisals, or loss of loved ones, I lived most of my childhood dreaming of the day I would be free to choose my own clothing, my own friends, and to come and go from my house without being spied on and without the worry that I or others in my family would be the target of violence.
Many adolescents rebel. Drinking, drugs, wild hair, body alteration and promiscuity are a handful of the ways youngsters choose to express their opposition to household rule. Once set free, like a kid in a candy store, I marveled at all of the options, but my lack of understanding how to be free left most of the jars in the store clamped shut. One could argue that I am better off for not testing all of those waters, but my lack of webbed feet still illustrates the point that being set free doesn't mean you are free.
While comparing my own experience of being freed from a home of domestic violence and abuse to that of a nation of people struggling against oppression might seem to be oversimplifying their process, I think living for decades under such oppression would overwhelm anyone's senses and produce great difficulty. Freedom does not equate to lack of responsibility, nor does it provide solutions to problems that existed before freedom has been achieved.
These great people who are struggling to become free and/or to rebuild their torn and tattered countries now that they are free, have to find their way. Just like any adolescent, these countries will be traversing new territory. Some will put great care and thought into planning the freedom of their future. Others will stumble and fall along the way. But hopefully their struggles and successes will continue to be an inspiration to others, and as time goes by, we can all learn how to be free together.
http://youtu.be/n4RjJKxsamQ
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