All I Ever Needed to Know About Politics I Learned From Berlin

Like a lot of high-minded, but mathematically challenged, young people I spent a lot of my time in college in political science classes. These classes were great experiences especially in the 1980’s when what was taught in the classroom was so often thoroughly discredited in the American street. Unfortunately, the “streets” don’t get to give grades so my steadfast adherence to reality usually earned me a begrudging “B.”

Nevertheless, the classes were great fun. In 1985 I took a comparative course on communism and capitalism. After looking over the syllabus, I protested to the professor that there wasn’t one pro-capitalist book on it. (I was that kind of guy back then.) I challenged him to include something, anything, by Milton Friedman. He finally agreed, but I was marked from then on – and of course my classmates appreciated the extra reading!

At the end of the semester the whole class took a trip to Berlin together. I played it cool but it was my first flight out of the country, or anywhere for that matter. Berlin at Christmas is wonderful. They love their fireworks there and our first night no one slept until after four. On the second night I crossed the wall for the first time with two friends – illegally. We had stepped onto the wrong train at the U-Bahn station. It seemed weird to us to see no man’s land passing under the train. No one remembered that from our earlier trip.

When we pulled into a grey, dark station across from a train headed to Warsaw we knew we were in trouble. An operator came hustling by and ordered us in broken English to “not move.” Then the guards armed with dogs and AK-47’s started heading our direction. Should we duck down or just sit there and let them see us?

We decided to sit there and act like we meant to be there. A couple guards looked in but they never questioned us. That taught me my first great lesson of politics:

1. No matter what, no matter how crazy things get, act like you’re in control and you planned this.

Ten minutes later the train started moving. Thankfully it moved WEST!

I never forgot that week in Berlin. It was so strange to see the Communist Bloc when it was still a “bloc.” Imagine walking Unter din Linden Street when there were no cars anywhere; visiting beautiful, but empty, museums in East Berlin; shopping in empty department stores. It was surreal – especially juxtaposed against the holiday decorations which festooned the Ku'damm; and the bounty of KaDeWe.

On a day trip to Dresden, I learned my second important political lesson. After spending the day learning about the fire bombing and marveling at how such a beautiful city could exist in such perpetual disrepair, our tour bus pulled up beside a darkened mansion on a darkened street. Was this where we were heading for dinner?

I joined twenty weary college students as we trudged to what was surely another bleary communist meal. But as we opened the door we were greeted by bright lights and a huge German eagle on the floor. We hustled into a back room where we enjoyed a live orchestra, dancing (except for us good Baptists) and the best German meal I ever had.

This was old Germany. This was pre-war Germany. This was the Germany that only people with dollars got to live in. As we drove back up the highway toward the “safety of the West” I thought about this political lesson:

2. No society can survive when its elites enjoy a life most members can never hope to experience.

My final lesson from Berlin took four more years to learn. In December of 1988, as I was finishing my degree at UNC, I took one final international relations class. On the last class day of my undergrad life – after we finished an exam review – our professor asked if anyone had final questions.

I don’t know what came over me. Maybe I wanted to prove they hadn’t convinced me of anything. Maybe I wanted to just aggravate one more professor. Maybe I wanted to impress some cute conservative co-ed. I raised my hand and asked. “What do you think the post Soviet world is going to look like?” I’m sure my exasperated professor gave me a “B” then and there. But he did patiently answer me.

The Soviet Union and its system of government was in no danger of collapse. If anything the West would see gradual Soviet expansion in Africa and South America. Less than one year later – twenty years ago this very day – I watched with all the rest of the world as East Germans charged through check points and over bridges and finally directly over the wall in complete joy.

I was beside myself for three reasons. First, no American can help but feel exultation when they see another person gain their freedom. Second, I was vindicated, but my entire collegiate education had just been invalidated. And third was the final great political rule I learned from Berlin.

3. The experts only know what has happened. They can’t tell you what will happen unless you let them. Fight for what’s right. Be an idealist. Never give up hope.

Thank you, Berliners for so many lessons and congratulations on the last twenty years of peace and freedom.