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.”
当我们回忆起发生在30年前11月9日的“柏林墙倒塌”事件时，我们总会联想起罗纳德•里根(Ronald Reagan)在勃兰登堡门(Brandenburg Gate)前发表的演说：“推倒这堵墙！”这种联想没错：这的确堪称Gipper（里根的昵称）的高光时刻，其光芒盖过他一生中其他许多令人印象深刻的时刻。正是在这场演说中，站在象征分裂的柏林墙旁，里根将其前任的名言——“我是柏林人(Ich bin ein Berliner)”——演绎出了一个新的版本：“站在勃兰登堡门前，我们每个人都是德国人，被迫与同胞分离；我们每个人都是柏林人，被迫看着这道伤疤。”