Only a few days after the D-Day WWII memorials, concerning which the Dutch blog GeenStijl paid tribute to American soldiers with an impressive photo-series, it has been made public that there will be a President Ronald Reagan memorial in London as tribute to freedom and the victory of the Cold War: a statue, a plaque, and a piece of the Berlin Wall.
From The Young Conservative:
Westminster Council approves Reagan statue- - - - - - - - -
London is to have its memorial to freedom after Westminster council granted full planning permission for a statue of Ronald Reagan outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. The monument will, appropriately, feature a section of the Berlin Wall. At a meeting of the council the planning request met with unanimous approval, and the council waived its ‘minimum 10 years after death rule’ to grant permission.Steve Summers, chairman of Westminster City Council’s planning applications sub committee, said: “Regardless of politics, nobody can dispute that President Reagan was a true ally of this country.
“During his presidency the term ‘special relationship’ reflected not just the close working partnership of our respective governments, but helped reinforce Britain’s unquestionable cultural and historic ties with the United States. “Subsequent presidencies have continued that unique bond between our countries so it is only right and proper we exempt President Reagan, as a former head of state, from the usual rules on statues.”
The memorial to Reagan will also feature a section of the Berlin wall, reflecting his decisive leadership which brought the Cold War to a bloodless end and dismantled Communism in Europe.
Mr Summers added: “Those who witnessed the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 described the feeling in the air that night as electric, as if some great force had been let loose and it is fitting we should pay tribute to Reagan’s contribution to bringing down this barrier between east and west, and subsequently changing the world.
“The site which houses the US embassy is a fitting place to acknowledge this great man.”
We understand that the Council’s decision is a victory for the Conservative Way Forward group who have been pushing for the erection of the memorial for several years. The application was formally made on behalf of “The President Reagan Memorial Fund”, by Mrs Jennie Elias, a CWF Executive member.
American Chas Fagan, who also crafted a statue of Reagan for the US Capitol, will sculpt the 10ft high bronze statue, which will stand on a circular 6ft Portland stone plinth; perhaps a fitting synthesis of British and American. Architects drawings and mock-ups of the statue can be viewed at Westminster Council’s website.
TYC’s Verdict: We look forward to the unveiling ceremony, and to London having a rallying point for freedom-lovers.
An afterword from VH:
The first comment underneath the GeenStijl article is [translated] “Can they please liberate us one more time?” and another: “Respect for the soldiers who fought and died there.” and “Very impressive, should never be forgotten, Respect, serious…” and “Thanks soldiers, for one of the best operations executed ever” and “Heroes” and “A big thanks to these men…” and “The biggest respect to these men (still boys then) as far as I am concerned this may be commemorated long after” and “These men are heroes, period!” and “Nothing but respect, for them. Thank you.” and many, many more comments like this.
20 comments:
It s good to know that us Americans are not hated by everyone. Because that is sure how it feels. It reminds me of an episode of a TV show I used to love called 'Northern Exposure'. In the episode in question one of the main characters asks a young German visitor to his small Alaskan town "Whats it like always being the bad guy? To which the German looks at him inquisitively? "Whats it like always being the bad guy in the movies"? The German just shrugs. Thats how I feel most days. But sometimes it is just too much.
And now we are only waiting for the endless whining of the British Board of Beards...
Spackle, I've been reading up on economy lately, and am tentatively coming to the conclusion that the anti-American sentiment may have to do with the fact that the US Government tries to purchase influence, basically with money it doesn't have. While hard to pinpoint, it is frequently percieved anyway, for instance in Turkey. Others, like the Serbs, have quite solid reasons for their anti-Americanism.
Since this is related to the monetary system, the 0bama administration, Ben Bernanke and other geniuses, the power of the dollar will soon be history, as will worldwide American influence. Unfortunately, I'd expect anti-American sentiment to last longer than that.
I'm sorry, but you guys are in for a really hard time. Being the perpetual 'bad guy' is probably going to look less bad than that.
Spackle, get used to it; take advantage of it.
I remember a Brazilian actress who had to play the bad guy said: "It's difficult in the beggining because the character was almost the opposite of what I try to be. But after a few days, it was a liberation to be bad and act accordingly".
Ah! And at the end of the day, even the girls like the bad boys...
Get used to it; take advantage of it.
From the article: The memorial to Reagan will also feature a section of the Berlin wall, reflecting his decisive leadership which brought the Cold War to a bloodless end and dismantled Communism in Europe.
Don't get me wrong, I adore Reagan and I think he was an excellent president. And I think it's great that this statue is going up. But does anyone else take exception to the emphasized part of the article that I quoted? I think that there's one big myth about Reagan: the idea that he single-handedly brought the Cold War to an end. Gorbachev was the one who really brought it to an end, and he was also instrumental in dismantling Communism in Europe. Reagan obviously did great things, but Gorbachev deserves more credit for bringing about the end of the Soviet Union than he is usually given by conservatives especially.
Natalie,
"But does anyone else take exception to the emphasized part of the article that I quoted?"
Yes but for a different reason. While Communism may have been dismantled in Europe, the Communists themselves thrived.
In Hungary they never went away politically and they're still in power as the Hungarian Socialist Party, though they did quite badly in the recent EUP elections.
In Western Europe their focus shifted inward, with the Maastricht Treaty being signed the year after the Soviet Union dissolved. Though I'm sure that would have happened anyway as the design for "ever closer union" was set out in the Treaty of Rome.
I have a small piece of the Berlin Wall in my study. I'd like a piece of EU Building in Brussels to go with it.
"Gorbachev was the one who really brought it to an end, and he was also instrumental in dismantling Communism in Europe."
I agree that Gorbachev, more than anyone, caused the collapse of Soviet Union but I don't think he deserves any credit because this does not seem to have been his intention. He's still a Communist even now.
Yes, you are correct: making the Soviet Union collapse wasn't really his intent. He realised that the whole system needed restructuring, so he attempted to restructure it, but the whole system ended up collapsing. And of course you're correct about the Communists in Europe. They're alive and well, unfortunately. I also see them in the United States too.
Has anyone here read Archie Brown's The Gorbachev Factor? I had to read it for a class at my university. It's pretty good--it provides a pretty decent analysis of the collapse of the Soviet Union. (But be warned: the author has a serious man crush on Gorbachev, which kind of biases him, obviously. It's amusing, though.)
Perhaps I was too strong in my words when I said that Gorbachev deserved credit for the collapse. I mean, I still think that he does deserve credit for helping the corrupt system fall, but I didn't mean for that to absolve him of his wrong views. He's still dead wrong on politics, even now. I didn't know much about his political views until recently, but one thing clinched it for me: he's associated with the newspaper Novaya Gazeta. (I personally think that paper is absolute rubbish. And yes, I do realise that it was the paper for which Anna Politkovskaya wrote.)
Natalie, I don't take issue with crediting Reagan for the collapse - but of course these matters are complex, and Gorbachev played a vital role in making criticism permissible - something the system couldn't bear.
Not without parallel, the EU elections last week (I wasn't close to being elected - but participating was fun and useful) did the same, empowering eurosceptics and letting blind europhiles fall by the wayside.
Back to the quote, for I do have some issues with the detail. The use of the word 'leadership' bugs me, for it implicitly endorses the principle of the Great Leader. Also, it takes attention away from what Reagan did that worked:
He demonstrated in practical ways that the United States was ready and willing to defend Europe from any military threat from the Soviet. That deterred the Soviet from attempting any attacks, and forced them to look inwards. Towards the rotten heart of Communism, finally letting the system lapse in cardial arrest.
The best way to honour the legacy of Reagan is to understand what exactly he did right, and learn.
I would note that GeenStijl's photo-series honors all the Allied soldiers of D-Day: Britons and Canadians too, not just Americans. We didn't do it by ourselves.
Gorbachev may still be a Communist, but he's also now a devout Christian. He recently made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.
In any case, Gorbachev wanted to save Communism, not end it. Reagan wanted to end Communism, said so publicly (to the horror of the bien-pensant), and acted resolutely to achieve that goal when hardly anyone else thought it was possible. Others played very important roles: Pope John Paul II, the heroic dissidents of eastern Europe, Lady Thatcher, the Afghan mujahideen, even Gorbachev (in spite of himself). But Reagan was central.
'cardiac arrest', of course :)
Now, if only Communism and the like had gone the same way. But it seems we've all decided to take that route again, with state control of just about everything. This is wrecking havoc on our currencies, too.
Related, I just noticed that IMF members are not permitted to use gold for international transactions. That is a very interesting detail.
Quote: I agree that Gorbachev, more than anyone, caused the collapse of Soviet Union but I don't think he deserves any credit because this does not seem to have been his intention. He's still a Communist even now. End Quote
Bingo. Not only that, but he is still a Russian Imperialist.
Dont count the US out just yet.
Long term, America is still a strong buy. However, if its power does wane, it will drive the cost of doing business up for everyone else, as they have to provide for their own security arrangements, and the US has the worlds best military hardware...for sale.
Dont bet against the US.
and acted resolutely to achieve that goal when hardly anyone else thought it was possible --- Rich Rostrom
A lot of people knew it was possible...hard and difficult but the fight was worth the effort. A lot of people (and Westerners) were pro Communism, that was the real problem....as it is now, the Western Left, the 5th column.
EscapeVelocity, I'd happily purchase US military hardware :)
There's a catch to this, though. The US has (rightly) been complaining that it spends disproportionate amount of money on defense. But defense is usually payable in dollars - which is created by the US government and the Federal Reserve. If the US Federal Government had the discipline to balance its budget (the Danish Government had that over the last decade) and still was spending as much on defense, it would be a more fair comparison.
Further, I think the Iraq war was a mistake.
Rich Rostrom,
Gorbachev's visit to Assissi's shrine was misunderstood and overblown by the press.
Gorbachev dispels 'closet Christian' rumours; says he is atheist
Declassified documents show that Reagan secretly tried to convert Gorbachev. Arguably this attempt went against the spirit of the U.S. Constitution but I imagine it was a part of the former's strategy for winning the Cold War.
Ronald Reagan tried to convert Mikhail Gorbachev to Christianity, aide claims
Islam O'Phobe,
Reagan secretly tried to convert Gorbachev.
Cute!
Arguably this attempt went against the spirit of the U.S. Constitution.
Also very cute.
Henrik,
Natalie, I don't take issue with crediting Reagan for the collapse - but of course these matters are complex, and Gorbachev played a vital role in making criticism permissible - something the system couldn't bear.
Not without parallel, the EU elections last week (I wasn't close to being elected - but participating was fun and useful) did the same, empowering eurosceptics and letting blind europhiles fall by the wayside.
We would need a Gorbachev in the EU Commission.
This statue will be a magnet for loons to deface.
It had better be made of stuff as strong as its original.
We would need a Gorbachev in the EU Commission.
That would be good!
Not that I find it realistic - you need to be a genuine europhile to get into the Commission - but at least we've opened the door to making critical statements about EU. Next step:
To make EU take criticism seriously.
Henrik,
Not that I find it realistic - you need to be a genuine europhile to get into the Commission.
Yes, I guess that the EU Commission is such a hopelessly sealed system, impossible for a sane and hounorable man to enter, compared to the Soviet politburo.
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