"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." Matthew 5:14
So last night I was watching "Ice Station Zebra".
Yeah, I know - not exactly an Independence Day film.
But I'm a fan of John Sturges, Alistair Maclean, and the Cold War genre in general, so this movie gives me a 3 for 1.
But I digress, and this isn't a review of the film anyway.
Watching the film got me to thinking about the Cold War with the USSR.
The Cold War got me to thinking about the Reagan era and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Pretty convoluted, eh? Try and stick with me - I ain't done yet...
That got me wondering: what was it like for people of the satellite countries, and Mother Russia herself, AFTER it all came down.
Sure, from our point of view (the USA, that is), we were happy that it was all over. Our greatest enemy had been defeated without any big mushroom clouds sprouting, no need to see if those "Duck and Cover" videos would really, really work.
Dad could turn the bomb shelter out in the back yard into a wine cellar / cigar humidor and have the boys over on the weekend so they could smoke and joke and laugh about how silly they all felt now for building one in the first place.
But what must it have been like for the average citizen of some of those little eastern European nations that were told that the new order of the day was "Root Hog, or Die"?
No more military protection from Big Momma - Momma had problems of her own. No more subsidies, no more grain shipments, and don't try to cash that check from home - insufficient funds.
Security is, to paraphrase our current VP, a "big f-ing deal". Knowing that you have a roof over your head, the ability to feed you and yours, and that you have the means to do it again tomorrow is something that for the majority of us in the USA, taken completely for granted. And I thank G-d for it.
Even if I loose my job tomorrow, I have an excellent chance of finding another one. Sure, if worse comes to worse, I may have to switch from a cushy desk job, to flipping burgers, but I have a fighting chance to not only continue, but with the proper application of "skull sweat" and "elbow grease", I can not only survive, but maybe, just maybe, I can exceed.
But what about some of those little former satellite nations? To some, no doubt, The Bombs might as well have fallen in Moscow. They were suddenly cut off from the socialist teat that they had been originally forced to feed from, and later grew to expect and depend on.
The thought of me being trapped in that situation sends my mind into panic attack mode. G-d knows what it must have been like for them...
So what does all of that have to do with me watching a cold war thriller last night?
Well, my mind is full of nasty, tricksy hobbitses sneaking their way to Mordor, and they finally led me to that dark, spider filled cave of "What If ?"
Could something happen here in the United States?
Something that could crack the very foundation of this bright and "Shining City on a Hill"?
The sad truth is: Yes.
Even this brilliant invention created by the true geniuses of our Founding Fathers is neither invulnerable or eternal.
Is it strong? Absolutely.
I think history has shown and will continue to show that this "Grand Experiment" is the closest example to a perfect society that has ever been, and ever will be created by men.
But the sad truth is that our Republic's greatest strengths have also become our greatest weakness.
That of freedom itself.
The same freedoms that made us what we are, are being used against us today.
Freedom of thought, freedom of religion, and freedom of expression have been slowly twisted into a perverse mirror of it's original intent.
Can we fix it before it's too late?
Absolutely.
But it's not going to be easy, and it's going to take strong measures to reverse the damage done.
Vigilance is hard.
Today we celebrate Independence Day.
But the War for Independence didn't end with the defeat of the British in 1783.
It was fought then, and we continue to fight now for our Liberty every day.
May G-d grant us many, many more.
July 4, 2010
Post Script: Maybe for today, I'll sit back, give my fevered brain a rest, and just watch the musical "1776"
That ought to get my mind off this stuff...
