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Article: Wall of shame.(Viewpoint essay)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- February 12, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Mr. Gorbachev--tear down this wall." Ronald Reagan's demand in 1987 regarding the Berlin Wall needed no nuancing. It was obvious that many East Germans wanted to enter the politically free and economically prosperous West and that leaders in East Berlin and Moscow could prevent them only by building a physical barrier, guarded by machine guns.
Now a wall is going up on U.S. soil, and its backers include many who claim to be Reagan's political heirs. The wall is planned for almost 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Some of it will be built on private land. One farmer about to be separated from her fields by the wall asked the Chicago Tribune, "Are we going to ...