Cold War era Presidents Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cold War era Presidents - Coursework Example Issues that we consider to be at the core of the United States democratic experiment, like individual freedom, were trumped by the political realities of the Cold War whenever the two came into conflict. Sadly, they came into conflict more than we might like. On the one hand, we can accept the idea that Soviet-style communism was not a source of or way of providing real freedom. The Soviets were authoritarian and controlling, and the centrally-planned structure of the Soviet system was often enforced with violence, as well as with harsh, politically motivated punishments. In this sense, the fight against communism, whether it involved funding Afghani fighters resisting Soviet occupation, or fighting the North Koreans, or embargoing Cuba, can all be seen as effort to promote freedom abroad by curtailing and containing the spread of such a vicious and draconian form of communism. On the other hand, Cold War Presidents tended to make decisions that were so committed to fighting the spre ad of communism that they often sacrificed the freedom of many to do so. This happened both domestically and in foreign policy. On the domestic front, many core civil rights issues were left to droop, creating an uncomfortable proximity between the message America was trying to transmit abroad and the reality of freedom and equality at home.