But if the communist rulers understand they cannot win by war, and if we frustrate their attempts to win by subversion, it is not too much to expect their world to change its character, moderate its aims, become more realistic and less implacable, and recede from the cold war they began.

Do not be deceived by the strong face, the look of monolithic power that the communist dictators wear before the outside world.  Remember their power has no basis in consent.  Remember they are so afraid of the free world’s ideas and ways of life, they do not dare to let their people know about them.  Think of the massive effort they put forth to try to stop our Campaign of Truth from reaching their people with its message of freedom.

The masters of the Kremlin live in fear their power and position would collapse were their own people to acquire knowledge, information, comprehension about our free society.  Their world has many elements of strength, but this one fatal flaw:  the weakness represented by their iron curtain and their police state.  Surely, a social order at once so insecure and so fearful, must ultimately lose its competition with our free society.

Provided just one thing—­and this I urge you to consider carefully—­provided that the free world retains the confidence and the determination to outmatch the best our adversary can accomplish and to demonstrate for uncertain millions on both sides of the iron curtain the superiority of the free way of life.

That is the test upon all the free nations; upon none more than our own Republic.

Our resources are equal to the task.  We have the industry, the skills, the basic economic strength.  Above all, we have the vigor of free men in a free society.  We have our liberties.  And while we keep them, while we retain our democratic faith, the ultimate advantage in this hard competition lies with us, not with the communists.

But there are some things that could shift the advantage to their side.  One of the things that could defeat us is fear—­fear of the task we face, fear of adjusting to it, fear that breeds more fear, sapping our faith, corroding our liberties, turning citizen against citizen, ally against ally.  Fear could snatch away the very values we are striving to defend.

Already the danger signals have gone up.  Already the corrosive process has begun.  And every diminution of our tolerance, each new act of enforced conformity, each idle accusation, each demonstration of hysteria-each new restrictive law—­is one more sign that we can lose the battle against fear.

The communists cannot deprive us of our liberties—­fear can.  The communists cannot stamp out our faith in human dignity-fear can.  Fear is an enemy within ourselves, and if we do not root it out, it may destroy the very way of life we are so anxious to protect.

To beat back fear, we must hold fast to our heritage as free men.  We must renew our confidence in one another, our tolerance, our sense of being neighbors, fellow citizens.  We must take our stand on the Bill of Rights.  The inquisition, the star chamber, have no place in a free society.