When John F. Kennedy spoke at Germany's Brandenburg Gate 50 years ago, it was a defining moment. He won the hearts of Berliners and Germans everywhere when he said, "ich bin ein Berliner"---translated, "I am a Berliner."
That speech was given June 26, 1963, a little less than 2 years after the Berlin Wall went up.
When Ronald Reagan spoke at Brandenburg Gate, that too was a defining moment. In his speech on June 12, 1987, he told then Soviet leader Michail Gorbachev, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
The result of his speech brought freedom to millions of people and helped lead to the end of the "cold war" and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
About 3 years later, I was in Berlin too, along with other ministers, to hold an outdoor Christian service in what had previously been "East " Berlin. An activity that would have gotten us arrested months earlier.
While there, I watched people tearing down "that wall" with sledge hammers, picks and tractors. I have a piece of "that wall" in my office.
Candidate Obama requested permission to speak at Brandenburg Gate in 2008. The German government denied his request. He spoke at an adjacent park to over 200,000 people.
This week, President Obama finally spoke at the Brandenburg Gate. About 5,000-6,000 people attended, many were invited government workers and, of course, the press.
While the President spoke of disarmament and peace, many saw the repeated attempt to advance the homosexual agenda as his defining moment.