10th Anniversary
of Western Communism's Collapse
by Jeffrey Davidson
Well today is the day which has come to be recognised as the day which marks the fall of communism in Europe. While there are many dates worth remembering, from the earlier collapse of the communist government in Poland and the opening of Hungary's borders to the final fall of the Kremlin, the destuction of Berlin Wall somehow symbolises the death of communism - a system so oppressive and so flawed that it had to imprison its own subjects to stop them fleeing to freedom.
This is a date worth commemorating - the destruction of a system built on lies, sycophancy and thought control which unfortunately had too many apologists in the West. It was a philosophy which opposed all the fundamentals of the human spirit - when it spoke of peace it meant war, when it promised trust it practiced deceit, when it promoted democracy it brought oppression. Yet why were so many in the West willing to lay down before it and ignore the evidence of their own eyes is a question we all should ponder.
We should honour the heroes of the final struggle - Reagan, Thatcher, the Pope, Solidarity and the many unnamed who struggled against the evil force on both sides of the Iron Curtin. But never forget the victims, the democrats and nationalists who saw the Red Army come but never leave, those who dared to think for themselves or happened to be connected to the wrong person or family.
In our consumer oriented society it is all too easy to forget the bones which are falling to dust and have no voices to be heard. But always remember, the lives, the loves, the families and the souls which were crushed under the heel of an evil which which blighted all that it touched.