~10 August 1994. IC train, along the rail corridor to Berlin. The old women across from me chatter, their voices raising as we approach Berlin. Cresendo: Wir gehen da druben! Were going, over there-- Many things have become clear, as Ive listened to them, along the way. They are going to see relatives. They grew up, in what became, Eastern Germany. And five years die Wende, the Change, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, reunification-- theyve finally saved enough money, to take a train journey of a few hundred miles; that Im taking each weekend. Now think: of all that is at stake, all the complexities; the old women, of Donestsk, walking in the streets in sub-zero temperatures today, wishing to be part of Russia-- kde domov muoy, as it is put in the Czech national anthem-- where is home? Forget, calculating rational interests. Think of the passion of this. Consider how that passion, its sudden heat, can override all else.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 07:17:24 +0000
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