A Short History of Walls

Dear Mr. President,

I hear you don't read much, so I'll keep this short and simple.

Walls to keep people out are expensive and not very effective. History is littered with failed examples.

I learned about the Maginot Line in junior high history - and it's stuck with me. The French went to great expense to build an elaborate defense system prior to World War II. The Germans flanked around it and flew over the Maginot Line. Damn that technology!

You've probably heard about the Berlin Wall. The one about which President Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." The Gipper knew that walls won't keep out people when life, freedom and opportunity are on the other side.

I assume you've played golf or something in South Africa. They have lots of walls with razor wire in that beautiful country. South Africa also has a high crime rate because building walls does nothing to help income disparity.

Hadrian's Wall was built in northern England for an invasion that never arrived. It's a great tourist destination though!

Israel has walled off the Palestinians and ranks #2 in percent of GDP on defense in the world. And yet, no one would claim Israel has the safest nation in the world.

Medieval castles began their decline after gunpowder was invented and cannonball and other projectiles breached walls. (Technology again!) Also they were expensive and uncomfortable as residences.

There are more, but I'm sure you see the trend.

I bet Trump Tower was a bit of a wall for you - with VERY little sense of the rest of the world's problems. But just like all the other examples through history, reality eventually will creep up the wall through technology or just persistence.