"Tear Down this Wall" at 30

It was 30 years ago that Reagan uttered these famous words.  A couple of thoughts:

• What a mensch.  Where the hell are men like this today?
• 30 years?  In some ways that feels way too much, and in some ways that feels not nearly enough
• It is hard to believe that Reagan demanded it, and the USSR complied.  Granted, things were already tipping that way, but once Reagan made his case, too much momentum was applied and the wall had to fall.
• It is damned hard to imagine a Berlin wall: a wall designed to keep people in, not keeping people out.  What a massive change in our lifetimes!

I do not miss the cold war and all that it represented.  I do miss the hell out of a leader like Reagan.  We've not seen anything like him since he left office, and we are poorer as a people for it.