When we think about the fall of the Berlin Wall, which took place 30 years ago next week, the piece of oratory we associate it with is Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate: “Tear down this wall!” Quite right, too: it was one of the Gipper’s finest moments, against strong competition. Here was a speech in which — with the wall right there beside him as a visible symbol of division — Reagan was able to play a variation on his predecessor’s “Ich bin ein Berliner”: “Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.”
當我們回憶起發生在30年前11月9日的「柏林圍牆倒塌」事件時，我們總會聯想起隆納•雷根(Ronald Reagan)在布蘭登堡門(Brandenburg Gate)前發表的演說：「推倒這堵牆！」這種聯想沒錯：這的確堪稱Gipper（里根的暱稱）的高光時刻，其光芒蓋過他一生中其他許多令人印象深刻的時刻。正是在這場演說中，站在象徵分裂的柏林圍牆旁，里根將其前任的名言——「我是柏林人(Ich bin ein Berliner)”——演繹出了一個新的版本：「站在布蘭登堡門前，我們每個人都是德國人，被迫與同胞分離；我們每個人都是柏林人，被迫看著這道傷疤。」