Tuesday, May 13, 2008

A Triumph of Hope

On Sunday, Ron and I traveled to Tulsa to see The Singing Revolution. It is a superb documentary film about Estonia. (yes, in case you were wondering, Rabakukk is Estonian) For those of you who don't know, Estonia is a Baltic nation that was brutally taken over by the Soviet Union in 1940. Then the Germans invaded, only to be pushed back again by the Soviets. This tiny country has been a pawn in the world game of chess for centuries. Throughout the last half of the 20th century, Estonia nearly vanished as the Soviets attempted to assimilate them into the collective of Socialism.
But Estonia would not have it. Against astounding odds, the Estonians maintained their identity and their national heritage. And when the time was right (late 1980s - Mikhail Gorbachev) they took a stand and raised their voices for the cause of freedom. Imagine 200,000 people in traditional Baltic dress spontaneously singing the banned national anthem. What's a media-conscious world leader to do?
Most Americans have no idea how truly blessed we are to have such enormous freedoms.
I am currently working on a piece about Estonian Independence for a children's magazine. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it.