Although for the 15 years preceding his election as President of the United States Ronald Reagan muted his anti-Soviet rhetoric in order to achieve political power, since his election he has returned to anti-Sovietism in an effort to redirect American foreign policy against the Soviets. At the same time, however, he employs a rhetorical strategy…

Examines samples from public discourse during the period 1961-1989, which reveal several different symbolic uses of the Berlin Wall. Suggests these differences reflect the never-completed struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. (KEH)