Of being impressionable

I've been reading a book that is a collection of stories from people who dealt with or were involved with the Stasi government in the former East Germany. Actually, it was a movie called 'The Lives of Others' that got me interested in the subject. Then I found the book 'Stasiland', by Anna Funder. I am amazed at what people in the GDR dealt with on a daily basis. I wonder what it would have been like to live in a society where you couldn't trust your neighbours or even your family. Or you could just 'go missing', and all record of you would cease to exist.

My own heritage is of Ukranian/Russian decent. Although I was never in East Germany, I have been to the former USSR, and from what I understand, some of their policies were the same.

I was on a 2 week study tour that was part of spring break tour offered at my high school. It was 1983, the first year (to my understanding), that they allowed in western students. What an eye-opener. I think it was in the former Leningrad, that we saw a long line of people, stretching around the block. Something that in North America could signify a new movie opening. We asked our state-supplied guide what the lineup was about. She told us that today was the day that everyone who's last name began with a certain letter could buy shoes. Our group of kids and teachers went to a Canada/Sweden hockey game, I went to see if I could get a snack...ice cream, one flavour-vanilla, 20 kopeks. I remember young people trying to talk to us, not long because as one said, ''KGB, I'll get caught''. But these kids wanted to know how different we were, I suppose to see if they had been lied to through the propoganda machine. I guess their position was pretty much the same as in the GDR. One thing though, I do recall everyone being very nice, even the guards in Red Square...of course there was no Russian Mafia at that time.

Being 17 and impressionable, I took in all I could from this country of my ancestors. And thanked God, they saw the need to leave. On my way home, as I was going through customs in Canada, the customs officer said ''Welcome Home'', I started to cry.

Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like for them (the soviets and GDR) if they had taken the best things about Democracy (ie freedom to think, express oneself without fear of imprisonment, freedom to decide), and the better things about Socialism (ie free medicare, being encouraged to study the subject you have the most apptitude for, free schooling) and put these two together and create a new society. I laugh at myself because I have no idea what they would try to call it.
I wonder if we could handle a society in which you were encourage to think and act freely (within the confines of law), and have free schools and medicare. What would the taxes be like???

Also, I wonder...if they had it all to do again, I mean the fall both of Socialism in Germany and Communism in Russia, would they do anything differently? Take more time perhaps, do it a bit slower?, stand up to it earlier? Or revert to the past?