This Is the Way... Building Walls or Building Bridges?
by Robin Webber
Walls have always had an incredible
impact on human society. These man-made structures have been used for
various functions over the millennia. They have been used to defend cities,
to seal off entire populations from entering an empire-or to prevent a
country's own citizens from leaving. It has often been noted that the
one human structure that can be seen from outer space is the Great Wall
of China. This fact alone is an amazing commentary on the diversity of
human history.
What goes up must come down
One of the best known maxims
of all times is "what goes up, must come down!" This note of wisdom holds true not only
for the law of gravity, but also for the forces of human history. Most
walls have ultimately failed to achieve their designated purpose. They
have been gone over, gone through or gone under by their attackers. Some
tumbled by divine will. Others simply crumbled as they outlived their now
forgotten purpose. So why do we keep building walls if ultimately they
don't work? In our time, we witnessed the peaceful collapse of the most
famous wall of modern time, the Berlin Wall-the cornerstone of the great "Iron
Curtain" that created two Europes for much of this century. This imposing
structure, too, has fallen-in a far different way than most.
Recently, Los Angeles Times staff
writer Carol J. Williams wrote a thought-provoking article titled "Wall-Toppling
Trio Honored at Berlin Reunion" that commemorated the 10th anniversary
of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall (November 11, 1999). Her article
personally challenged me to contemplate the delicate balance of that
pivotal moment. In fact, it allowed me to fully focus on the fact that
it is often easier to build a wall than it is to take one down. She
shared the personal recollections of George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev
and Helmut Kohl regarding this pivotal event. Their reflections on
this historic moment are a seminar in statesmanship, and provide Christians
with a valuable lesson.
