Looking Back

Berlin was one of the most inspiring places I've ever come to visit in my life and truly a gem of European history. There are so many important people and events that revolve around that city, a characteristic that makes attentive visitors feel as though they are sitting directly on the pulse of Europe. It truly struck me as a city that lives in great optimism yet constant reflection. To specify, a friend of mine that I met during my stay said it is a great achievement for Germans to still look forward towards a bright future even in the light of the trials of its past. This denotes that German people have pulled through even the worst conditions of state and triumphed forward against suppression and disunity.

The evaluation of my experiences in the past three weeks will be a process that continues for quite some time. This is understandable because every time I tried to truly absorb observations about my surroundings I would only encounter a greater flow of new information. There is a distinct list of things that are emerging within my thoughts though. First off I have realized that capitalism itself is not inherently the best form of economic policy. Depending on how much a population expects its government to provide, any degree of socialization may be taken to meet those demands. Straight capitalism is simply a formula that has worked very successfully for the United States and other wealthy nations, but it is not a generally suitable and acceptable method. What does remain important is the maintaining of a democratic form of rule. This goes all the way back to John Locke's writings about a government's only true purpose being to serve the people of its society. If it does not meet those needs then it should be in full capability of the citizenry to change how their interests are represented. Over the course of the trip we visited places where this was not legal under the rule of communism, yet attempts to do so were still made. Everything from the Hungarian Revolution in '56 to the Prague Spring to the Solidarity movement and the Fall of the Berlin wall reflected resentment toward socialist leadership.

Finally, in a journalistic light, I see that media did not play as grand of a role in the end of communism as perhaps America had hoped, but there is certainly a value to supplying people with free information they would not be able to get from their own society. Having the ability to make your own decision between what information is relevant to your interests is instrumental in preserving democratic stability. If people are incapable of receiving information from alternate voices and perspectives than their own (or the one they are accustomed to) their understanding of societal needs becomes stagnant and therefore unuseful in the betterment of society. The more limited information exposure is, the more limited one's reasoning becomes.

Altogether, this has been one of the best decisions I have made in college and am extremely lucky to have shared it with such bright and engaging people. The things I gained could not have been achieved in the classroom, even with the best textbooks and professors imaginable. A significant part of the learning came from teaching myself what was significant about communism from interacting with those who lived under its reign. Being in the environment taught me things about the communist experience that cannot be easily put into words and printed. There is a significant depth and understanding that can only be achieved by submerging one's thoughts into a context only attainable through travel and experience.

- William Flourance