The Wall Came Tumbling Down!

Friday, October 3, 2014


Nearly 25 years ago a most amazing thing happened, the Berlin Wall fell! This was one of the most visible signs that the Cold War was ending and really brought the world to a point that it hasn’t quite adjusted to. As Germany celebrates its “Tag der deutsche Einheit” (German Unity Day), its 24th such celebration, I thought that I’d take a look at that event.
First of all, has it really been 25 years? I have two daughters that were both born in Germany after that historic day and they only know about what life was like before the Wall Fell, by stories that they hear or discussions that they have in school. How wonderful it is that there are generations of people that don’t know what it was like to live in the Cold War! I personally watched the events unfold from America, so I didn’t experience what life in a divided Germany was like firsthand and ever since I moved over to  the Frankfurt, Germany area, I’ve had a sense of wonder when I visited Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow and any other area that I visit that was under the “Iron Curtain”. I was studying at the university when all those revolutions happened and I had one political science and one economics class that focused on these events and it truly was an amazing time, so full of hope for the future.
I’ve always been fascinated by history and dates and one thing that hasn’t been lost on me is that World War 1 started in 1914 and we also will have the 25th Anniversary of the “Fall of the Berlin Wall” in the same year. Some people would point out that Word War II was largely a result of the way that Word War I ended. I’ve been listening to a fascinating account of World War I by Dan Carlin (someone who really makes history fun) on his Hardcore History Podcast, in a series that he has been doing called “Blueprint for Armageddon”. There are currently 4 episodes in this series and I’m eagerly awaiting the next episode. I would also propose that way that Word War II ended set the stage for the Cold War and we still haven’t found our way in the Post Cold War Era. Maybe some of our leaders were looking for another meaningful long-term conflict to latch on to, but it is pretty obvious that we weren’t ready for the end of the Cold War and are still trying to find our way.

In the IT world, when we’re following best practices, after we make a big change (i.e. to our infrastructure or to software) we should take some time to review what happened, did the change go the way that it should have, are there any steps that need to be taken to correct effects from the change? When changes are planned, there should be a “change freeze” to make sure that the change being implemented can be rolled back and that a root cause analysis can be done on any resulting problems after the change. I would argue that we need to do this as a society and think about where we really want to go before we get sucked into the next Great War. After the Cold War ended, we should have done such an assessment before we got sucked into a “War on Terror”. Many of the international conflicts that we have today are at least in part due to the way that the maps were drawn after World War I and World War II and governments that were supported because they were deemed strategically necessary because of the Cold War. President Eisenhower warned us of the “Military Industrial Complex” in his farewell address…
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” (Text of President Eisenhower’s speech from Coursera)
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that a lot of other things could have been done with the money spent on the Arms Race and the money spent on arming this or that party. Add to this that we’re now developing a “Security Industrial Complex”, can there ever be enough security when the enemy is the bogeyman? How do you ever win a “War on Terror”, when is the “Mission Accomplished”, truly?  Where is the treaty signed that ends the War on Terror”? Now, imagine that the money and energy pumped into endless wars were directed at problems that need solving instead. Can you imagine what amazing things we could do with the technology and the problems we could solve?
The human element is often overlooked when talking about the conflicts and fighting that we’ve had. Imagine the families and friends torn apart in the divided Berlin and Germany. Not knowing when they’d see each other again (or even if there would even be a “when”). Imagine the hopelessness of it all. What kind of future did the kids have to look forward to?  And yet, the human spirit somehow prevailed, family, friends, and countrymen were reunited and what was unimaginable not that long ago came to be, a reunited Germany! The people have been able to celebrate all these things for nearly 25 years!
Before we go building more walls, it’s time to tear some more down, to reach out and build some more bridges and connect more people. My grandfather, in his eternal wisdom used to say how people everywhere were good and could get along, it was just our politicians that couldn’t get along. To Germany and the world, I wish you a happy “Tag der deutsche Einheit“ and I hope that we can unite more people that are torn apart and learn some lessons from the Cold War. 

Darryl Heron

You might be interested in the 20th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification

Note:  The picture above "Thefalloftheberlinwall1989" comes from Wikipedia.

September 11th- 13 Years Later

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

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The 13th Anniversary of September 11th is fast upon us, as I write this, it is a matter of hours away. As has become my personal tradition, this is a big day for me (and for much of the world as well). A lot of time has passed since that awful September 11th when the world changed. One thing that hasn't changed for me is that there were real people that died that day and families were torn apart. It is those families that I think of when I do things related to Project 2996.

I discovered Project 2996 when I was doing research of an article that I was writing about September 11th, and it has become a part of my life ever since.  Doing research on some of the victims brings them into your life and though you have you probably never met them the memories of their lives become part of you and as long as you live, these memories will live on.  It might not make any sense to someone who hasn't participated yet, but surely you have read something in your life or seen something (via television or possibly online) that has touched you.  If you haven't experienced this, you need to, because it is at moments like this that our humanity shines through.

For the 11th Anniversary, Project 2996 started a project of pinning pictures of all of the victims of September 11th into a Project 2996 group pinboard on Pinterest. The goal is to get a pin done for every single victim, with a tribute written up for them as well.  This year Project 2996 has added another campaign focusing on the Legacy of the victims. This too is being done via a group pinboard on Pinterest. This new group pinboard is called "Project 2996 Legacy"




I July I ran across a book called "Just a Few Sleeps Away", by Mike Nichols, who tells the the story of a family of one of the victims and how they dealt with their loss. This got me thinking about the legacy that all of the victims have left. I noticed that there were streets and buildings named after victims as well as scholarships and charities that have been created.  There has been a lot done to create a legacy for the victims. This was the inspiration for the new group pinboard.

Dale and I have learned some lessons by being involved in Project 2996 and this has also influenced the decision to run this (and the other campaigns) for the entire year, not just a few days around the annual commemorations.  The original group pinboard has more have 500 pins and the new pinboard already is off to a good start with over 30 pins.

I don't know if you've done the #ALS #IceBucketChallenge (I have), I found it refreshing that some many people did it. I don't think that you get too much debate about it being one of the better known campaigns of all time. Organizations around the world are looking at that campaign to see what they did right and how they can use this for their purposes. I personally have enjoyed seeing who I knew would end up doing the challenge as well as what celebrities. You can join us in any of the Project 2996 campaigns, it won't tax your pocketbook, you won't get doused in icy cold water, you'll learn something about the victims and you'll have a whole different outlook on September 11th.

On this September day, I think about the people that I have written tributes in the past (Keith Roma, Christopher Santora,Joseph P. Henry, Karl Henri Joseph, and Dana Hannon). I especially think of David W Laychak, who was the first person that I've written about in Project 2996. I think about how honored I was to get a comment from Mrs. Laychak, to one of the tributes that I wrote.

I hope that you take some time out of your day to remember the victims of September 11th, their families, their friends, and the world as this day left all of us a little sadder and world a little less richer because of all these wonderful people we lost and the impact of society that they would have had and the lives that they did and would have touched.  You can follow the new Project 2996 Legacy  and the original Project 2996 boards on Pinterest and even join us if you'd like to do some pinning.  You can also write tributes of your own.  If you don't have a website or blog to post them on, I'd be happy to post them for you.  Feel free to leave a comment. If you knew any of the victims, I'd love to hear your memories and stories about them. 

Darryl

Here are my posts for the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th11th, and 12th Anniversaries  You can read more about the pinning campaign here.  The Project 2996 website is here, the Facebook group is here, and the original Project 2996 group pinboard is here.