Bodyguard
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 1337
Location: The Collective
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 4:00 am Post subject: Ronald Reagan and the fall of Communism
|
|
|
Since the point came up regarding RWR and the Cold War I thought I would share an article by someone whos opinion is without peer.
| Quote: |
LECH WALESA
Friday, June 11, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT
GDANSK, Poland--When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can't be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century, until communism fell in 1989.
Poles fought for their freedom for so many years that they hold in special esteem those who backed them in their struggle. Support was the test of friendship. President Reagan was such a friend. His policy of aiding democratic movements in Central and Eastern Europe in the dark days of the Cold War meant a lot to us. We knew he believed in a few simple principles such as human rights, democracy and civil society. He was someone who was convinced that the citizen is not for the state, but vice-versa, and that freedom is an innate right.
I often wondered why Ronald Reagan did this, taking the risks he did, in supporting us at Solidarity, as well as dissident movements in other countries behind the Iron Curtain, while pushing a defense buildup that pushed the Soviet economy over the brink. Let's remember that it was a time of recession in the U.S. and a time when the American public was more interested in their own domestic affairs. It took a leader with a vision to convince them that there are greater things worth fighting for. Did he seek any profit in such a policy? Though our freedom movements were in line with the foreign policy of the United States, I doubt it.
|
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005204
The above article was written by Lech Walesa....please take the time to read history by one who lived it.
And to those who referred to RWR and GWB as cowboys in a bad way.,.I leave you with this quote
| Quote: |
But the poster had the opposite impact: Cowboys in Western clothes had become a powerful symbol for Poles. Cowboys fight for justice, fight against evil, and fight for freedom, both physical and spiritual. Solidarity trounced the Communists in that election, paving the way for a democratic government in Poland. It is always so touching when people bring this poster up to me to autograph it. They have cherished it for so many years and it has become the emblem of the battle that we all fought together.
|
|
|
FOOTSOLDIER
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 1037
Location: Formerly 3333
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 11:48 am Post subject:
|
|
|
BG... thank you for sharing the views of such splendid individuals who's perspective comes from watching Ronald Reagan from a distance and who was on the receiving end of his policies.
I'm sure EVERYONE on this board agrees there was a level of greatness with Reagan that has not been seen often, if at all, during the 20th century.
"Footie"
|
|