The Walls Fall Down

Barack Obama is in London for the G-20 summit. It's his first big foreign visit as President. I saw him share a press conference with Gordon Brown. He spoke with clarity and dignity, saying the Us would both lead and listen. He affirmed the premise that this is a global economy, and thus we can't simply go it alone. Whatever the US may have done to get this mess started, it will take a joint effort to resolve the problem. Of course, this won't be an easy conference. Both France and Germany want to go in a different direction -- less spending, more regulation. It won't be easy to bridge the divide -- so we must wait to see if the walls fall down!

Speaking of walls falling down, as I was channel surfing the news while eating breakfast this morning, I came across Chris Matthews commenting about the summit and the current situation. He reminded us that 20 years ago the world faced an even bigger crisis -- the Cold War -- and wise heads were able to navigate this challenge, which Chris said is bigger than anything happening today.

So, as we ponder the current state of affairs, let's go back 20 years. 20 years ago -- November 6, 2009, the Berlin Wall fell. It didn't fall because of American military might, it fell because the communism that had ruled this region since WWII simply didn't work. The people tore down the wall, not Mr. Gorbachev nor Mr. Reagan (though both men were pragmatic enough to let these events unfold. It would be appropriate to point out that in Eastern Europe the churches played a significant role in these events -- simply by providing space for an opposition to develop.

I remember well that evening, watching the news, seeing something unfold that no one would have imagined just a few years before. I was 31 years old when the wall came down. I was not yet a father (though I was a father-to-be). The world has changed. We are at a point of crisis, but we've gotten through bad times before. We'll get through this one too -- if we let wise heads prevail.