Editorial: Fall of the wall was watershed moment

On a June 1987 visit to the Berlin Wall, President Ronald Reagan minced no words when he challenged Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." The wall did serve a functional purpose in preventing East Germans from escaping to freedom in the West, but it also unwittingly became a symbol of communism's failure: Walls are supposed to keep out your enemies, not to hem in your own citizens.

It was 10 years ago last night that East and West Germans came together and started tearing down the wall, ushering in communism's collapse in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Reagan's hard-line approach in dealing with the Soviet Union and its satellite nations hastened the end. But it also should be noted that President Harry Truman's policy of containing communism, which was followed by subsequent administrations, set the stage for the repressive system's ultimate downfall.

The transition to democracy has been difficult for many of the former communist regimes, and Germany itself continues to experience economic growing pains, especially for residents who live in what was once East Germany. But Germans rightfully celebrated Tuesday that wonderful moment 10 years ago that marked the beginning of the end for communism. And while the world should look back fondly on this event, at the same time it should not forget that communism still has an iron grip on China and North Korea, choking the freedom of more than 1 billion people on this globe.

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