The Other Side of Freedom

We in the west have a hard time seeing the downside of what we call freedom.  I never thought about this before until I hear this story. 

I stayed for a couple days with a Hungarian pediatrician who told me about life under soviet communism.  One thing she shared was the time she and a number of other easter block physicians were invited to present at a conference in West Berlin.  Of course they had to receive special permission from their governments to go to the west.  There they were received  graciously however they seemed to disappear mysteriously at mealtimes.

Turns out that the eastern doctors were “sneaking” back over into East Berlin, an image that seems ludicrous to westerners who think our system so attractive!  It was because they simply could not afford to eat in the west!  As much as we love to love our capitalism we almost always forget that many of our “freedoms” only apply to the privileged.