As we approach the upcoming election next month, I am reminded of my November experience of 35 years ago. A cold Fall morning, standing in a chow line to be fed breakfast after a late-night, training at a CIC (Combat-In-City) site called Doughboy City. Taking in the warmth that a hot cup of coffee could provide, served from an army green mermite container. Word was getting out as we huddled around the chow area, that we needed to get picked up by the Company deuce and a half and rushed back to McNair Barracks. Not long after this scuttlebutt was going around, a convoy of Deuce’s showed up and the First Sergeant was yelling for us to grab our gear, get back to the Barracks and our Company area. Being Alpha Company’s unit armorer at the time, when we arrived back, I was instructed to get my Ice Pack ready and keep the arms room open and ready to issue weapons to deploy. An Ice Pack was the to go ruck, meaning go to war at a moment’s notice, that we kept above our lockers. Equipment we did not use for training but always had ready, since we would not have time if the Soviets decided to take the initiative and attack. For the next couple of hours we hung out ready to go, while the command planned and deciphered what was the East German and Soviets intent. Was this a rouse? A faint, to lead an initial attack?
The morning was 10 November 1989. I was stationed with the US Army’s, A Co 4th Battalion 502nd Infantry part of the then Berlin Brigade, in the US sector of West Berlin. Berlin at this time period was 110 miles inside Soviet controlled East Germany. I was one of 5,000 US Army service members sworn to hold and defend a city of 1 million civilians, surrounded by 270 thousand East German and Russian troops. The previous night, the East German government made an announcement that was in a way misinterpreted, but to the East Berliners they reacted by storming up to the border crossings between East & West Berlin peacefully. This was the pinnacle point in history that began the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and fall of the Soviet Union. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. What “The Wall” and its fall really is or was at the time, symbolized a view to the collapse of an ideology on how the World should be governed. But was it really? I can remember the years following this event, the United States, the worlds now sole Superpower, a proof that governance by democracy over communism is the selected governance of choice. What happened? Looking at this period in our rearview mirror, we all had hopes for our future and the future for the world’s humanity. Freedom for the peoples of the world, democracy for all.
How was such a pivotal period in human history, with such an optimistic feeling towards the future of mankind squandered? How did we lose such an opportunity, get to where we stand today in our country’s history in 2024. How did we rebuild Walls? We as humans, societies, religions, races, political views, have built walls of all different sizes and shapes to ward out some imagined threats. Some physical, most of them constructed in our minds.
As a young American 35 years ago, I can still feel the shared energy of that moment. A trapped humanity feeling their bonds released, for them and their children’s future. Freedom of movement, freedom of thoughts that can be turned to speech, and as it was unfolding, I was playing a small part in a historical event. I was full of hope and optimism. It is only now after years of reading our history good and bad, which in 1989 I had not walked the earth long enough to fully understand. It was the age of “kill a commie for your mommy”, mentality. Blind Patriotism, without life experience. Our 213 years of shared American history to that point was one of progress. Not that this progress was without sacrifice and suffering, but it was a gradual progression towards the better angels of humanity. That we are all equal and could pursue happiness. We as a Country had made a lot of mistakes, ones that hurt or suppressed. But we usually learned through our suffering, created the changes needed to progress as a nation. Not everyone was happy, but we moved forward striving for a progression of our humanity. Our history has shown that progress has worked. Perfect no, but progressing yes. An example of a society of imperfection, differences, governed under an agreed upon rule of law not perfect, but of what can be achieved with time.
As I write this knowing that some of my fellow Americans will disagree with my rational on our progress as a nation, though not perfect we have progressed towards a greater good. This greater good has led us as a nation to be the wealthiest and most powerful nation in human history. It has been our tearing down of walls, that has benefitted us as a nation that has led to this success. Destroying barriers, not creating them. Look at our troubled past, events in our shared history, that we have overcame. Times that we have lifted the yoke off our citizens, freeing them to live their American Dream. We did not honor this easily to all our citizens, but when it could be realized and made to actionable corrections, we grew. There is no Great America in our past, that we need to be looking back to recreate again. We are now the America that has grown from her shared experiences, learned lessons and should be looking only towards our future focused on, “how do we do better”? How do we progress, as a nation to honor our ancestors suffering, not waste opportunities, because we choose pride, ego, vanity, greed and arrogance. We helped create the world we live in today. Every International conflict, good and bad we have played some part in its creation and outcome. We have also played a positive role, that most people never talk about. The United States and its willingness after WWII to allow the US Navy to enforce the freedom of the seas, for global movement of commerce. This action has not only lifted more people in the world out of poverty in all of human history. But also created for the United States and US businesses as the global powerhouse with the level of economic power we have today. Think about this prior to 1945, throughout human history the world had 55% or more, living in extreme poverty. Today that number is under 10%. This could have only been achieved by our actions as a country. The question is, was it worth it to free 45% of the world’s population from extreme poverty, worth all the external issues we have with globalization and free trade? Have these actions effected the US GDP? Did we lose jobs and create higher unemployment? Have we seen a drastic change in the standard living of the average American? Almost every American is living today with access to clean water, shelter, a TV and a cell phone. Not just a cell phone, but a smart phone that contains more knowledge and computing power within and available, then anything ever seen or imagined in 1945. The fears of dying from infectious diseases, and the overall numbers who now survive or are inoculated from ever catching a terminal disease 80 years ago. We forget and have forgotten how blessed we are as a Nation.
This could never have happened if we allowed walls. Our growth as the wealthiest Country the world and has ever known, would not have happened with walls. Both physical or mental. Greatness is achieved by opening your mind from barriers that restrict the flow of information and ideas. This election is one of mental, not metal walls. Do you choose an ideology that wants to restrict thoughts and ideas, create barriers, isolate behind walls? This only works for the few who build and construct the walls to control their power base. The current World of leaders display an excellent example of this, the governance of Russia and China both very fond of walls. Why would we want to be led towards our future with similar examples of controlled isolationist, only benefitting the few who maintain the control of those restrained behind their walls. Those trapped behind these walls will not see it as restricting until it is too late and has been constructed around them. How do I know this? I was lucky enough to have the opportunity while stationed in West Berlin to witness this, and to sit in on a question-and-answer interview with an East German border guard who had escaped over the wall. He said it was easy to see that the ideology was not working, but by the time that people realized and started to flee, they had built the wall to keep the population trapped within. Bend to their will, their needs and ideology.
True freedom doesn’t need walls. Why do the best and brightest want to come to America, be educated at our best universities. Want to flee their homelands and leave their families, to risk their lives at sea or crossing deserts? If you need to restrict, build walls to control, ban books, suppress freedom of speech, your ideology has already lost. Voter suppression, gerrymandering, stacking courts, creating barriers is a form of a wall. These walls can only lead to the slow demise of the United States as a power or will be torn down by the will of the people. So why build it? History shows that freedom, true freedom does not have restrictions, a need to suppress. Walls suppress, I know I witnessed one fall.
As Americans, we all pay a price for our Democracy and freedoms. Some people only pay their taxes for this freedom and feel that is all they owe. Some people have sacrificed their sons and daughters, parents or family members for our freedoms. Some have worn the uniform and sacrificed. The best of us, have worn the uniform and it was the last piece of clothing they would ever wear. We all pay. Some paid more. We all pay taxes, even those who died in battle paid taxes, so they paid and gave the ultimate sacrifice.
For social media or TV personalities, to question the Patriotism of any American based on their individual beliefs, whether religious, political, cultural, or identity is I hate to say this, historically very American. We historically are slow to learn, slow to react. We are like the wealthy guy owning a high-end automobile who likes to race around town. Always too busy to stop and do his preventative maintenance, oil & filter change, rotate the tires. Every 6 months his car breaks down, and he must go into the shop and pay for expensive repairs. He loves to complain about the quality of his car and how it’s built, why it doesn’t hold up or run better considering how much he paid for it. But in America, we have visionaries who do understand that maintenance is key to longevity. They understand that it is an endurance race, there will be bad weather to deal with, bad parts, occasional bad drivers around us, that complaining doesn’t get us more miles and less issues. Only planning for solutions to anticipate issues and acting upon the solutions, will we achieve greater longevity. Walls restrict the anticipation and action to solutions.
A wall, created to maintain control, which is power. From a historical standpoint as Americans, we keep knocking them down. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, knocked them down. Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Douglas, knocked them down. Anthony, King, Kennedy, Johnson, Lewis, knocked them down. Progress will never be achieved by looking back over a wall you have already overcome. Thirty-five years ago, I believed my service would mean a better world for my future self, family and country. Is it?
Yes, I believe it is. The changes I have seen in attitudes in our culture in the last 30 years towards diversity is huge. Don’t get me wrong, we have seen through social media the daily flailing’s of a cult mentality, minority like-minded troglodytes, grasping at an ideology that has failed through ignorance. It will fail again. Nazi Germany was never going to win with it’s ideology against the US, England, Russia and the other Allied Forces. Pure numbers, Germany in 1936 had 66 million people. Just the US alone had a population of 128 million people in 1936. It’s a numbers game. The British knew they could not control or hang on to India forever, the numbers don’t work. The US knows it can never attack China and win a ground war, pure numbers. The Republican Party is in a panic because pure numbers are not on their side and getting worse. They have lost the overall vote count for almost 20 years. The last Presidential election that they won the overall vote count was in 2004, with the election of President George H. Bush. That means for the majority of Americans, Republican ideas and policy our citizens don’t agree with the their Party. They need to be looking at their policy failures, as a failure of ideas. Create policies that work for the majority of Americans, their needs, generate a future for their Party. Instead they are grasping at outdated concepts to manipulate the processes towards Democracy. What’s sad, is they don’t care how they win to maintain control, only that they have control. No desire to govern for all the people and by the numbers don’t care what the majority of the people desire. They may win this election. They may if they win continue to disrupt, deny, and tamper with our systems to try and maintain control. Not focusing on the will of the people, govern for the people, but solely to maintain power and wealth. But, it won’t last, history has shown this. The American people will only stand to be walled in for so long, to a failed ideology of control, by a select few Billionaires and their Troglodytes (anyone proudly waving a Nazi or Confederate Flag).
I feel like I did 35 years ago. It’s cold out, I am getting rushed back to the barracks to suit up and possibly face an uncertain future, maybe warfare and death. It became known after the fall as the “Peaceful Revolution” and this gives me hope. Difference today is I have seen this before, I know the ultimate outcome over time, and the only thing I can do is have my voice in this matter with my vote. Then sit back on this cold morning and enjoy my coffee, not served from a marmite can.
Tripper Vincent, Navigator
Tequesta, FL
PS: Walls can be made of water. Proof that the belief in individual Freedoms and Democracy is a powerful ideology. The photo below is me lifting a Cuban toddler to the safety of the USCGC Vigilant in 1995, from their sinking raft. How desperate does one need to be to cast themselves off into the unknown, risk everything to search for a greater future of freedoms? I could feel it up close and personal.
TheWatermanBlog 