For Michael Mucchetti, the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago marked the start...
WASHINGTON - For Michael Mucchetti, the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago marked the start of a deeply personal relationship with Germany, and he is determined to ensure that broader U.S.-German ties survive political disputes currently dividing the allies.
He talked about meeting his German wife Kirsten in Berlin in late 1989 - on the day that large sections of the Wall were removed, allowing thousands of people to transit through the historic Brandenburg Gate after it had been closed for 28 years. “I salute the German government’s effort to advance cultural diplomacy,” he said. “We need more ways to build bridges and not erect walls.”
There was a break-dance performance at the Lincoln Memorial that fused hip-hop and German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and, this week, the erection of a replica of the Berlin Wall at Georgetown University for students to sign. Such “sidewalk diplomacy” connects communities at a very decentralized level, said Roger-Mark De Souza, president of Sister Cities International, which co-hosted the BMW event. “Those relationships allow politicians to have a bridge that they can cross when there’s national disagreements,” he said.
“If you look at the bilateral relationship, it’s really easy to focus on the negative, but there’s so much positive,” said Amy Kardel, a California attorney who visited Germany to learn about its vocational education system as part of the “Wunderbar Together” program.
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