Column:
Walls built upon oppression
Published Nov. 13, 2009
Those of you keeping up with the news might have noticed there was an anniversary earlier this week. On Nov. 9, many joined to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
This iconic wall separated territories, people and economies of East and West Berlin from 1961 until 1989. For many Americans, it was an iconic symbol of the Cold War struggle and the eventual conclusion of that struggle.
In an unexpectedly creative and unconventional approach, the former route of the Berlin Wall was lined with about 1,000 8-foot-tall domino pieces and toppled over. And for those wondering which humanitarian rock star took on the honor of holding a concert on this occasion, Bono beat Sting to the punch.
In light of that recent wall-themed event, I thought it would be timely to look at some of the other famous walls people have built throughout time.
One especially famous wall is the Great Wall of China. Measuring 4,000 miles, or a whopping 25,344,000 chop sticks, across Northern China, it runs about 1,000 miles longer than America at its widest parallel from East to West coast. That's pretty big for a structure that commenced construction in the fifth century B.C. It was built as a defense mechanism to keep out invaders. A more modern version of this national icon is known as the "Great Firewall of China," designed to keep the armies of invading Web bloggers and foreign Internet influence outside Chinese borders.
Now consider Wall Street. Wall Street didn't get that name without earning it. Although today, if you travel there, you will see an actual street, from 1653 to 1699 there was actually a wall, and not just any wall at 12-foot wall measuring 37 miles built to separate the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam from the nearby Native American tribes. Foreshadowing the famous Vietnam War summation of the black man fighting the yellow man for the protection of the white man, Wall Street was similarly built by the black man to protect the white man from the red man. The Bill of Rights was later passed in a building overlooking the site.
Another well-known wall is the barrier separating Palestine from outside aid, medicine, trade and escape from the Israeli occupation. The Gaza Strip has an unemployment rate of 44 percent. Goods coming into the country are few and far between due to extreme regulation and deprivation by the Israeli occupying force.
And of course there is the wall closest to us, the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Measuring roughly 700 miles, it equals the length of 7,370,000 8-inch tacos neatly lined-up length-wise. Regardless of one's feelings about this wall or US immigration policy toward Mexico, this border barrier is surely one of the great walls of our time.
So for all this talk about walls, a basic point must become apparent: Walls are designed for separation and often built on a base of oppression. Although we think about of the walls that nations have erected, let us also reflect on any walls that we ourselves have erected. Let us examine why these walls (both national and personal) are built and what is lost or gained by their continuance. I think anyone can agree walls make poor neighbors.