Back in the USSR

In 1982 I was one of a handful of US students who traveled to the Soviet Union as part of an educational 'exchange'. I remember many things about the trip in the pre-glastnost Russia. First and foremost, I remember stepping off the bus from the airport and being stunned that there were people walking dogs in Moscow. Dogs! They had Dogs! As a well educated and reasonably well read college student I was stunned that I had so little in my head to put Russia in context. All I knew was they were a Red Menace, and they were our enemy. Twenty five years later - the world has changed. The Soviet Union is no more. And what is in its place is a confused free market system trying to sort out what kind of society it wants to be.

With this as a backdrop - I went to hear Michael Gorbachev speak in New York last week. I expected a somewhat contrite and reserved man, given the state of the country he once led - and impact that perestroyka and glastnost has had on the population. But instead - something very different happened. For the first forty minutes or so, it was all pretty polite. Pat Mitchell, the President of the Museum of Radio And Television, showed clips from The Cold War - a series she Executive Produced for CNN - and Gorbachev answered questions through a translator. It was all very congenial.

But as we moved from historical to modern days - Gorbachev became more engaged, agitated in fact.

This turned frothy when Mitchell wondered if there was anything Gorbachev regretted - he retold a story about protecting a key cabinet member who should have been replaced. The he said, "much like your President who has trusted advisors who've overstayed their welcome." It was a gentle criticism, but from former head of Soviet Union - it was a powerful condemnation. He then shifted his body from Pat to the audience, his voice rose, and he delivered about a four minute soliloquy about the power of democracy and the importance of freedom as a motivator of people and societies. He became so impassioned he almost drowned out the translator.

It was a moment I'll never forget.

To have the Russian President speaking about democracy with reverence was startling and stirring. But all the more so, given the number of freedoms that we seem willing to allow to be compromised or traded in exchange for a promise of protection from terrorism.

There's a remarkable book about the changing face and shape of The United State "The Untied States of America" by Juan Enriquez. Sitting in the auditorium listening to Gorbachev I couldn't help but think of Enriquez book - and how clearly he made a case for the inevitable change in our country. He doesn't advocate for change, instead he explains in remarkable detail how countries inevitably change their shape as economics and demographics shift in the sand. Clearly Russia is evidence of that - but why do we think we're immune?