On Freedom’s Trail

THE Philadelphia Society convened its annual meeting this year to consider the topic, “The March of Freedom through the World.” With all due respect to the farsightedness of Secretary for Life Don Lipsett and his band of trustees, I submit that they could not possibly have known, when they chose this topic the previous spring and started lining up speakers, how very timely it would be. In April 1990 the dismantling of the Soviet empire was still in its first stages; Saddam Hussein was just a blip on the radar screen. Who could have known, when Vladimir Bukovsky was invited to speak, that he would have been allowed, just days before the meeting, to return to his native Russia for the first time since he was expelled in 1976? And who would have dreamt that the United States would have gone to war and won a splendid victory (but then proceeded to lose the peace)?

Miss Bridges is NR’s Managing Editor.

THE Philadelphia Society convened its annual meeting this year to consider the topic, “The March of Freedom through the World.” With all due respect to the farsightedness of Secretary for Life Don Lipsett and his band of trustees, I submit that they could not possibly have known, when they chose this topic the previous spring and started lining up speakers, how very timely it would be. In April 1990 the dismantling of the Soviet empire was still in its first stages; Saddam Hussein was just a blip on the radar screen. Who could have known, when Vladimir Bukovsky was invited to speak, that he would have been allowed, just days before the meeting, to return to his native Russia for the first time since he was expelled in 1976? And who would have dreamt that the United States would have gone to war and won a splendid victory (but then proceeded to lose the peace)?

Miss Bridges is NR’s Managing Editor.