Oh yeah, you say, eyes wide and bright with newfound knowledge. That's where this comes from!

We've all heard tons of references to Reagan's 1987 speech at the Berlin Wall in western Germany. The wall was an eyesore, no doubt—it stretched for almost a hundred miles around West Berlin, so it took up a lot of room. But it also symbolized the differences between East Germany and West Germany, and made it seem like they were insurmountable.

In other words, no one was going to be holding hands around a campfire any time soon.

Reagan was very aware of what the wall said to the rest of the world, and he believed communism would only end if the Berlin Wall came down. His speech in 1987 made that very clear: "There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace [...] Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Much like his Evil Empire speech, President Reagan emphasized the ideological differences between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and how the ideas were the real problem. He said that only true freedom would usher in world peace, and freedom could not exist with a big wall down the middle of one of the world's most historic cities.

Reagan also emphasized the critical nature of the nuclear arms race, particularly how dangerous it was, and also how pointless. Peace couldn't exist between two countries if they continued to stockpile big bad weapons to use against each other, and as the largest symbol of communism in the world, the Berlin Wall needed to come down to prove Gorbachev was as dedicated to burying the hatchet as Reagan was.