Tear Down This Wall

Given the significance of today's date in history, I figured I'd break my drought of blogging and reflect on the momentous occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Ich Bin ein Berliner. President John F. Kennedy's speech in June 26, 1963 was a rallying point for West Germans at a time when the lines of the Cold War were drawn with the erection of the Berlin Wall. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Ronald Reagan's speech in June 12, 1987 was another momentous occasion. Finally, on November 9, 1989, the physical wall that separated a city and a country came crashing down. The wall that had physically divided a nation was no more, and families, separated for decades, reunited. Democracy had prevailed, and twenty years later, the world commemorates the anniversary.

But another Cold War relic continues to divide another people group half-way around the world. The Koreans, historical victims of great power politics, remain divided. President Bill Clinton once remarked that the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas "is the scariest place on earth." North Korea has more than a million-member army with hundreds of short-range missiles aimed at Seoul, ready to reunite the country by force at a moment's notice. South Korea, along with U.S. forces, is bunkered along the border ready to defend the South. North Korea has been developing nuclear weapons, while the United States has extended its nuclear deterrence to protect South Korea. The Korean War remains technically unresolved, with no formal peace treaty ever signed.

In this context, families have been separated for more than sixty years. Once in awhile, the two Koreas have agreed to allow pre-selected families to reunite in historic summits, which have generally been emotional affairs that have garnered international attention. The latest family reunion took place a couple of months ago at Mt. Keumkang in North Korea. Yet, unlike the dissolution of the artificial division in Germany, the two Koreas remain at odds with each other, well into the 21st century. And there is no end in sight.

Yet, I am hopeful that one day, the strength of the human will can break down the finally legacy of the Cold War. I hope that in my lifetime I will see a people group, long divided over ideology and politics, reunite at last. I hope to see a stronghold of tyranny and oppression be replaced by rule of law and justice. It is long overdue that the wall that divides a people be torn down. And I hope it eventually will. But until that day comes...