I am not a fan of what the rest of the world calls “football.” I cannot tell you the score of any game played during the World Cup.

However, I do love America, and I have loved seeing hundreds of short reels from people around the world talking about how great America is. I’ve watched Europeans’ eyes pop as they get their first glimpse of the God-given beauty of the Grand Canyon, the mountains of Tennessee, Yellowstone National Park, and other places around our country. The world is amazed at the size of our gas stations. Thank you, Buc-ee’s. There are so many things that we take for granted that the rest of the world is in awe of, because they never would have believed things like crushed ice and free refills even existed.

There are hundreds of videos out there showing the magnificence of our food. To see their eyes roll in pure delight while biting into Texas Barbeque and eating that first forkful of biscuits and gravy.

In one video, a man was describing the things he would miss when he returns to the UK. Number one on his list was the porch. He explained that porches do not exist in the UK, and that the ability to sit back for a few minutes, listen to wildlife, and let the world go by was something he would cherish but would be unattainable back in his home country.

Another theme that runs through all these social media posts is the friendliness of Americans and how the media lied to those coming to see the World Cup about what America is all about. The world is learning that the American Way is not a bad thing after all; in fact, it is a good thing. Even more than a good thing, many are seeing the American Way as the preferred thing. Years of hearing that America is evil are being overturned by thousands of people visiting for a week or so. As communists are being elected as mayor of our most populous city and to seats in Congress, the lesson that the American Way is the best way needs to be relearned by Americans.

I have three personal stories to share that give a glimpse of what life under communism is like. When I say personal, I am not relaying a story I heard from someone else. I am telling you the actual events that happened in my own life. You are receiving these stories from the firsthand source.

In 1984, Julie and I were able to cross to the Soviet Union side of the Iron Curtain. To get to West Berlin, we rode a train through East Germany. We left Frankfurt at 6pm and arrived in West Berlin at 6am. By the time we reached the West Germany/East Germany border, it was dark. Riding through the dark countryside, it was impossible to see anything out the windows. The Soviet Union did want us to get a glimpse of country life on their side.

Once we crossed the Iron Curtain, we were not allowed to leave our sleeping area. Once across the border, the train stopped several times. At each stop, two Soviet soldiers entered the train. They stopped at each compartment and looked through the window at us. They were counting the people on the train. They were counting us to determine if anyone had boarded the train along the way. The train’s final stop was West Berlin, a place where there was freedom. They did not want their people to escape to freedom. Most walls are built to keep things out. The Iron Curtain was built to keep people in.  

After arriving in West Berlin, the next day we were allowed to enter Soviet controled East Berlin. If you have seen the old black and white films of WWII, you’ve seen what communist controled East Berlin looked like in 1984. I don’t remember any color. Everything was black, white, or gray. Once we crossed to the other side, we saw a building with one side collapsed. The bricks were lying in the street. I asked a local what had happened. He told me the building was bombed during WWII. I said, “That was forty years ago.”

He explained that the state had not told anyone to clean up the area or to tear down the rest of the building. He went on to explain that they were afraid to touch it unless the state told them to clean it up. Can you imagine an America where rubble from a building lies in the street for four decades because the people are afraid to clean it up without government approval?

The last story I’ll tell today is about a museum parking lot. Our guide took us to a museum. When we arrived, there were two buses outside. The guide said he had not seen this before, and he would go in to see if we could visit the museum that day. When he returned, he said that Russian school children were inside and we needed to wait about fifteen minutes because they did not want the children to have any contact with Americans.

First out of the museum was a Soviet soldier. He was dressed in full battle gear, including a rifle. Walking in single file behind the soldier were 20-25 little girls. The girls were all in uniform: white shirts, blue skirts, and red berets. I would estimate their ages to be from 6 to 8. At the end of the line was another soldier, just like the one leading the line, armed, in full battle dress. The first soldier entered the bus, walked to the rear, and sat down. The girls followed suit, filling the bus from the rear to the front, one girl in each seat. The soldier at the rear of the line was the last to enter the bus; he took the driver’s seat.

Then the exact same thing happened again, but this time with boys. Two new Soviet soldiers, armed and in battle gear, one at the front and one at the end of the line. The boys were the same in number and age as the girls and also in uniforms similar to the girls’. The boys wore white shirts, red ties, and blue slacks, but no headgear. They loaded their bus the same way the girls did, and once that soldier was ready to drive, both buses drove off.

When we went inside, just inside the door was a twelve-foot statue of Lenin. The statue had a pile of flowers up to its knees. The museum worker, with great pride, explained to us that it was the first day of school and that every Russian student is brought to a statue of Lenin to place flowers at his feet.

This is Fourth of July week. We need to shout praise to God for our freedom and liberty. The world is in awe of the choices we have at a gas station fountain drink dispenser; we should be too. Do we really want a country where it takes four armed soldiers to escort 40-50 six-to eight-year-old children on a field trip? Do we want a country where people on modes of transportation are counted to ensure no one escapes? Do we want a country where children are forced to worship the nation’s heroes instead of having the freedom to worship God? Do we want a country where the citizens live in so much fear that rubble will lie in the street for forty years because the government hasn’t told anyone to clean it up?

Forty years of bricks can tell us a lot.

Preacher Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.