The Unknown War: The Defeat of Communism 20 Years Ago Was the Most Liberating Moment in History. So Why Don't We Talk about It More?

Welch, Matt, Reason

ON AUGUST 23, 1989, officials from the newly reformed and soon-to-be-renamed Communist Party of Hungary ceased policing the country's militarized border with Austria. Some 13,000 East Germans, many of whom had been vacationing at nearby Lake Balaton, fled across the frontier to the free world. It was the largest breach of the Iron Curtain in a generation, and it kicked off a remarkable chain of events that ended 11 weeks later with the righteous citizen dismantling of the Berlin Wall.

Twenty years later, the anniversary of that historic border crossing was noted in exactly four American newspapers, according to the Nexis database, and all four mentions were in reprints of a single syndicated column. August anniversaries receiving more media play in the U.S. included the 400th anniversary of Galileo building his telescope, the 150th anniversary of the first oil well, and the 25th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A Google News search of "anniversary" and "freedom" on August 23, 2009, turned up scores of Woodstock references before the first mention of Hungary.

Get used to it, if you haven't already. November 1989 was the most liberating month of arguably the most liberating year in human history, yet two decades later the …

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Publication information: Article title: The Unknown War: The Defeat of Communism 20 Years Ago Was the Most Liberating Moment in History. So Why Don't We Talk about It More?. Contributors: Welch, Matt - Author. Magazine title: Reason. Volume: 41. Issue: 6 Publication date: November 2009. Page number: 2+. © 2009 Reason Foundation. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

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