Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Love, Joy, Feminism

Home
Nonreligious
Republicans: From “Tear Down This Wall” to “Build That Wall”

Republicans: From “Tear Down This Wall” to “Build That Wall”

Last updated on: January 11, 2019 at 6:08 pm by Libby Anne

Republicans: From “Tear Down This Wall” to “Build That Wall” 2019-01-11T18:08:58-04:00 Libby Anne

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The government may be shut down over Democrats’ refusal to fund a border wall, but that’s not stopping the Trump administration from pushing for the installation of nearly 200 more miles of concertina wire at the U.S. border. As NBC reported last week:

The Department of Homeland Security has requested more U.S. troops to be deployed at the border to add 160 miles of concertina wire on top of existing border fencing, according to three U.S. officials.

If approved by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, the addition of troops to enhance the fencing could extend the military’s current deployment at the border until the end of September, based on the rate of construction, according to two officials. The military mission, which began two months ago, was set to end on Jan. 31.

The fencing that is to be reinforced with concertina wire is not new. The troops currently deployed at the border have already added concertina wire at ports of entry in Arizona, Texas, and California.

Here’s a picture NBC provided with the article, along with this description: “Members of the U.S. military install multiple tiers of concertina wire along the banks of the Rio Grande near the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas on Nov. 16, 2018.”

As I look at images like this, I’m struck by odd similarities. Have a look at this picture from the 1960s, for instance:

The Berlin Wall.

After WWII, occupied Berlin was divided into different administrative areas: the Allies controlled what became known as West Berlin while the Soviet Union controlled Eastern Berlin. Despite this administrative divide, movement between the two sides of the city was allowed. Many East Berliners worked in West Berlin, and some West Berliners worked in East Berlin. Likewise, East and West Berliners crossed to the other side to go to the movies, or the opera.

As the disparities between East and West Germany became clear, however, millions of East Germans decamped to West Berlin, and from there to West Germany. These individuals fled oppression or sought better economic opportunity, or simply wanted to follow family. In August 1961, the Soviet Union erected the barbed wire in the picture above, virtually overnight. The border was closed.

People still found ways across, of course.

Soon after this, the Soviet Union so upgraded its border wall to a form most Americans today will find more familiar—a concrete barrier, topped in some places with barbed wire, later to be covered with graffiti. Over time, this wall was built higher. It was also manned by armed guards.

In the United States, conservative politics learned heavily on anti-Communism. The political Right, in other words, cheered those who crossed the Berlin Wall in what amounted to illegal border crossings. In fact, Ronald Reagan, leader of the rising conservative movement of the 1980s, is perhaps most famous for saying to the political head of the Soviet Union, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

I am no fan of Reagan overall, but I do appreciate his call for the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.

All humans have the right to freedom of movement. I benefit from that freedom in the United States, where I can travel from state to state without encountering a wall or complicated visa processes. In addition, with an American passport, I could visit just about any country I wanted to. I want to see that same freedom of movement extended to others as well. I believe it would create a better world.

Republicans today, however, clearly disagree. Trump can whip up crowds of thousands with chants of “BUILD THAT WALL!” Republicans don’t push back. I am left with a question: How did the Republican Party go from anti-wall to pro-wall? How did conservatives go from praising illegal border crossers to demonizing them? How did the Right go from “tear down this wall” to “build that wall”?

This, by the way, is what building a wall looks like:

It was in 1961 that the Soviet Union built the wall along their border in East Berlin. And now today, in 2019, the Republican Party wants to build a wall along our border with Mexico.

Trump enthusiasts would likely argue that the Berlin Wall was designed to keep people in, while the wall they want would be designed to keep people out. That’s true. There are some pieces of the optics, though, that look the same regardless. Each wall is designed to stymie freedom of movement. Each wall is designed to keep people from fleeing violence or seeking better economic opportunity.

More troops, more concertina wire. More concrete, make the wall higher.

Do you know what the New York Times reported last week? They quoted early political advisors to the president explaining that Trump only started talking about a wall because they fed him the idea as a memory device to make sure he would remember to bash immigrants in his speeches, rather than spending all of his time bragging about himself and the things he has built.

On some level, of course, where the idea come from does not matter. What matters is that the Right embraced it. And here we are today, with conservatives calling for building concrete walls.

I have a Patreon! Please support my writing!

Politics

Channel - Politics Blue

history

immigration

Previous Post

January 6, 2019

Lesbian Duplex 205: An Open Thread

Next Post

January 8, 2019 Can Evangelicals Find Agreement on Creation and Evolution? No.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atheism Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism Family Feminism Homeschool Meta Parenting Patriarchy Politics Purity Quiverfull Social Justice Uncategorized Worthwhile reads

Select a Month February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What happened to the golden calf?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Set up for worship Burned, ground to powder Taken to Canaan Hidden