bizarre obsession with such decadence. Thus the American Way, far from the last best hope for the world, is becoming a riot of indulgent freedom that is anything but positive and liberating. “License they mean when they cry liberty,” John Milton warned in words that are widely echoed today.15 After the younger Bush’s second inaugural address, a Middle Eastern leader said to a friend of mine, “Every time the president says freedom, I see license.” One last criticism is that American freedom has simply