PrintJune 21, 2008
Will Estonia Liberate the United States?
Estonia, liberated from communism in part by music, has embraced supply side economics and economic freedom. This small Baltic nation may have some lessons for America.I recently attended the Chicago premiere of The Singing Revolution, an extraordinary film documentary on the pivotal role that music played in the liberation of Estonia from fifty years of brutal Soviet oppression. The film, which premiered to a standing ovation at Estonia's Black Nights Film Festival, is now touring the U.S. and stands as a powerful affirmation of the enduring spirit of human freedom.For Estonia, the 20th century was a litany of horrors. A victim of the 1939 Nazi-Soviet "nonaggression pact," the tiny Baltic nation was invaded three times during World War II: first by Soviet Russia in 1940, then by the Nazis in 1941, then again by the Soviets in 1944. After the war, the Soviets transformed Estonia into a "Soviet Socialist Republic" and attempted to strip the Estonians of their...(Read Full Article)
