| |
Blog of Adam Daifallah -- author, journalist, law student. Lover of politics, writing, golf, curling, fitness, fashion, bacon and maple products -- not necessarily (but probably) in that order. Partisan of the Anglosphere. Contact me via email at adam@daifallah.com. This summer I am joined by Keir Wilmut and Omar Soliman.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
A true believer to the core
Once in a while you'll read or hear about people who are really dedicated to the cause of freedom, and commit their lives to the cause. They work in government, they write articles, attend conferences about international affairs, etc...
These people are important, and do really good work. I wouldn't want to demean them in any sense. But few of them have actually done the real work of advancing freedom in the world in the practical sense. By that, I mean few have actually really gotten their hands dirty in the trenches -- working with underground movements in other countries, scuttling out refugees, endangering their lives by protesting regimes, etc....
Very, very few people can boast of actually doing this. One who could was someone named Constantine Menges, who passed away too young a few months ago.
A great and moving tribute to the man can be found here, written by the Hudson Institute's Michael Fumento. Just a few nuggets from Fumento's article about this incredible life:
- His parents fled to Poland from Turkey after being arrested for publicly opposing Hitler.
- Fled to America in 1943, worried that Turkey would join the Axis powers.
- While a college student in Prague, Constantine Menges heard that East German authorities were quickly throwing up a wall littered with machine-gun posts to enclose East Berlin and permanently trap the occupants. He hopped into his tiny VW, drove to the city, and began making shuttle runs through Checkpoint Charlie. Each time he returned with a Bug stuffed with refugees.
- He was a volunteer worker in Mississippi for equal voting rights during the "long, hot summer" of 1963.
- He marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr....
I met Menges a couple of times when I worked in DC. He had a reputation for being overzealous, but if you read this piece, seems to me he was just more prophetic or clairvoyant than everyone else. What a neat life. read on....
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 6:40 PM
|
