For half a century, the Soviet Union was not only our principal
military adversary. It was also our ideological and moral
"other." Both left and right in America defended their competing
visions of a liberal society in reaction to the Stalinist
nightmare. In this sense, the Cold War profoundly shaped our
public philosophy. Indeed, we might say that the Cold War was
our public philosophy. The demanding contest with Soviet
communism guided how we thought about the core principles
underlying our basic institutions. For liberalism was, or
appeared to be, totalitarianism turned inside What features of
the American creed did this master contrast lead us to stress?
Freedom of speech and the press, first of all, and freedom of
conscience, for these were cruelly repressed under Moscow's
sway. In the same spirit, Americans underscored the freedom of
movement, the right to form private associations, the right to a
fair trial, and the right to vote in competitive elections where
incumbents might be toppled from power. Li