Calling on in Transit

Weak American dollar causes shut down of Radio Free Europe.

From the Economist:

FOR outsiders interested in the ex-communist world, the English-language material produced by the research department of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is invaluable. But it will not be available much longer. The department is closing. Its analysts are job hunting. Some bulletins have stopped already. The reason is simple: budget cuts caused by the weak dollar.

(Italics mine, for effect)

First of all, I'd like to point out that I know finger-pointing when I see it. As one of my good friends who has a bit more perspective (and probably more brains) than I told me - this was a long time coming.

Radio Free Europe served a very specific purpose, and one could certainly argue that they are no longer necessary. However, one could also argue that such an important establishment should never be lost to budget cuts. This is a piece of European history - of world history - and should be treated with a reference not even afforded to NPR in America.

The value of giving hope to the hopeless is unquantifiable. It cannot simply be written out of a budget. And the voice of hope certainly should never be quelled by these wannabe pseudo-fascists (and ultimately, failures in their own right) , and their inability to properly direct a functioning economy.

I know it's not a food crisis, but it is a voice. It's a voice of the people that worked for the greater good of the downtrodden citizens who were themselves forced daily to only half-live their lives under militantly oppressive conditions.

Radio Free Europe gave them news. It gave them truth. Above all, it gave them hope.

And now, it may go the way of the dinosaur, Dynasty, and democracy in America. We can only hope that we can right our own ship in time to preserve one of the truest and brightest beacons of freedom the world has ever known.