Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
The Good Book tells us that Joshua used trumpets to bring down the walls of Jericho. History tells us that Ronald Reagan, with the help of our Peter Robinson, used the power of the spoken word. Winston Churchill said, “Truth is incontrovertible, ignorance can deride it, panic may resent it, malice may destroy it, but there it is.” So perhaps the pen really is mightier than the sword. For just as a pebble thrown into water can have ripple effects far beyond the vision of the person who throws it, so too can a courageous statement start a wave of freedom that spreads far beyond the vision of the author. The words are now a well known part of history: "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall." But words, spoken with conviction and clarity, can move historical mountains.
In 1996, my Dad traveled to Europe with the Sons of Jubal. Comprised of ministers of music from across the state of Georgia, the Sons of Jubal included a brass section known as the Jubal Brass in addition to an all men's choir. This group of approximately 100 professional musicians toured Germany that year, performing both classical and sacred music in German. While Dad laughed that playing the trumpet in German was no easy accomplishment, this collection of accomplished musicians witnessed history in sharp focus. They performed sacred music in the great cathedral in Cologne. They played Handel's Water Music from the top deck of a tour boat as it floated down the Rhine. Each evening, members of the group, along with their wives, stayed as guests in the homes of members of the churches that hosted the performances. With the Berlin Wall gone, the group toured and performed in what was formerly known as Eastern Germany.
Yesterday, as we drove across Arizona in an 18 wheeler, Dad told of the remarkable things he saw from the Brandenburg Gate eastward. Many of the buildings were still riddled with bullet holes from the Second World War. But most importantly, he spoke of the people in Eastern Germany, thousands of whom flocked to a church one evening to hear the Sons of Jubal. The balcony of the church, which formed a sort of horseshoe around the sanctuary, was already full when the group arrived to set up for the performance. The two thousand seat church filled in short order. Demand for the event, which would have been illegal until the wall came down, resulted in a lottery system to determine who would be allowed to sit in the sanctuary. Outside, still more people gathered to hear the music through church windows left open for that very purpose. All told, approximately five thousand people gathered at the church to listen and worship.
As the crowd assembled, the Jubal Brass began with a series of classical selections from German composers. The crowd was silent, soaking in every note, every chord, every morsel of music that had previously been outlawed. The final note of the final selection of this instrumental portion of the program ended on a somber, minor chord. Then, seemingly with the very next beat, the men's choir rose and began singing sacred music, A Capella, in the triumphant, major chord of 'G.' And triumphant it was indeed, for the effect was instantaneous as tears welled in the eyes of those in attendance upon hearing once forbidden music in their language. You see, many of these people had been captive in the prison camps. Many had been forced to toil in inhuman conditions in these camps, and still many more had lost their family members in the prisons. These were people who had spent decades enslaved by the Soviet Empire, who permitted the adoration only of the state. And yet here they were, on this day, in a church that had been closed, listening to the music of master composers while worshiping The Composer of freedoms so long denied, but never forgotten nor abandoned. At the conclusion, there was scarcely a dry eye in the house, as members of the Sons of Jubal were embraced by people who said simply, through their tears, "Danke."
One evening was spent in an old castle, as the guest of an East German family whose ancestry traced back to German nobility. While being shown about the property, still under renovation, Dad wondered aloud how one might know if a souvenir that purported to be a piece of the Berlin Wall were the real article, since he planned to go the site of the wall the next day and didn't want to be taken advantage of by any unscrupulous merchants who were known to sell any piece of concrete they could find as an authentic relic. The gentleman excused himself and walked away, returning with a chunk of concrete for Dad's inspection and saying it was a piece of the real wall. When asked how he knew, the gentleman next produced photos showing him and his son on top of the wall that fateful night, pickaxes at work, tearing that monstrous affront to human liberty down. Then, the gentleman invited Dad to read the inscription on the bottom of the concrete. Turning it over, Dad read on the piece of paper, "This is an authentic piece of the Berlin Wall." With that, the gentleman insisted that Dad accept it as a gift from his new German friend. The next day, this man took Dad on a tour of the area where the wall once divided the free world from the captive. Standing at the spot where he helped tear it down, the gentleman sobbed as he spoke of how he had been moved by the unmistakeable challenge in President Reagan's speech that day long ago. The challenge, spoken so clearly, over the protests of the diplomatic corps, resonated in the hearts of the people behind that wall. Reagan found his mark.
At its essence, history is biography. It's the story of people in all their strength and weakness, triumph and failure, heroics and shortcomings. The story of Ronald Reagan is the story of one man's unyielding faith in the propositions contained in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and his ability to turn that faith into action. Another man of action, Winston Churchill said, “If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time--a tremendous whack.” President Reagan did precisely that, taking a blunt truth and using it as a pickaxe to make that first strike at the wall, and in the process striking a deathblow to the idea that any man is somehow organically suited to lord over the affairs of another. To Peter Robinson, who crafted those courageous words, thank you. And to a President to who gave life and conviction to those words, from one who was privileged to serve under his leadership, thank you, Sir. Happy Birthday.
- Comment (9)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Sometimes I find things so overwhelming as to be unbelievable.
If only We had a President with a speech for the DMZ.
Jun '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Dave, you're writing your posts in MS Word and copying from word and pasting to your blog editor, so you end up with double spaced paragraphs. To eliminate the double spacing between the paragraphs do one of two things: 1) When you paste go through your posts and eliminate the the hard return MS Word inserted between paragraphs and then reinsert the blog editors hard return by hitting the enter key, or 2) post your copy once and when it appears on the main feed form go immediately to edit mode, when your post appears in edit mode repost it without changes and the double spacing between paragraphs should disappear. I don't know that you care, but if you do, that is what works on the member feed.
Sep '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Beautifully said Dave.
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Ah, okay. Thanks much. I had to use a different word processing program, since my Word Starter program went pppfffftttttttt. Thanks.
Jul '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Thanks again, Dave. Another excellent piece. Read it to Mrs. Sisyphus, and will likely share it with the little Sisyphuses when circumstances allow.
Feb '11
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
I've been meaning to join for some time now. The chance to comment on this post got me off the fence.
Well done, Dave!
Jun '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Dave, you have become Ricochet's master story teller. Nicely expressed. Yet again! Allow me to add a philosophical point.
We hold our rights as unalienable gifts from God. As such, they cannot be taken away by men. Tyrants can suppress them, but these gifts reside in the human soul. Truth resonates in a deep chord within our being. Goebbels had it wrong; a lie repeated often enough does not become the truth. It becomes anathema in the eyes of God. The truth remains untouched by lies because, like God Himself, truth is eternal and immutable. Great men know this. They speak the truth with ease because it comes naturally to a righteous mind. And with the truth comes the courage to do the right thing. Amen.
Oct '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
Beautifully written. I lived in Berlin from 1977-1980 and worked on a mountain built from the rubble of World War II. There was a tall antenna that we would climb at night when we got too bored and there was a distinct line of demarcation between West and East Berlin. West Berlin was alive with lights 24 hours a day while East Berlin with its 3-4 random lights was so striking. I remember be on the phone with a close friend who was a Major in the Army and with whom I ran two marathons in Berlin. We were both sobbing. I never thought that I would witness that sight of the Wall coming down in my lifetime.
Jun '10
Re: Ronald Reagan and the Power of Truth
My daughter asked why her mother and I were crying as we saw the wall come down. We explained that we remember the wall going up. I don't think she understood the significance the event had for us, just that it was a powerful event indeed.
Those events color our days and we can't understand why today's children don't understand. Can we make our children understand or should we try? Can we see the world through their eyes while looking through the lens of the past? Those post-wall children are voters now.