I arrived in America with nothing.
I built a career, a business, a family — everything the Soviet system said was impossible.
I discovered what a system that works looks like. Not perfect — but perfectible. Not utopia — but opportunity. Not promises — but possibilities.
The difference was not wealth, though there was wealth. The difference was not comfort, though there was comfort. The difference was freedom. I could speak without fear. I could work and keep what I earned. I could fail and try again. I could disagree with the government and not disappear. I could raise my children according to my values, not the state's ideology. This is what collectivism takes away — not just prosperity, but humanity itself.