Echoes of Communism (Lessons from an American by Choice) - Paperback

by Ileana Johnson Paugh (Author)

I wrote this book because, sadly, I see the United States turning more and more towards communism. As misinformed Americans embrace eagerly the total socialist society concept, the nanny state, I hear the "echo" of my hard communist life in Romania and the cries for freedom.All the stories of becoming an American citizen, the pride, the pain, the hard work, experiencing good and bad along the way while weaving myself into the fabric of society, being an American longer than I was a Romanian, where I came from, why, and how, had to be told. The vignettes are a small glimpse into the universe of a child and a young woman growing up under communism and the pained, tumultuous transition of a young adult to life in a free, capitalist American society.The painful adaptation to a foreign culture, the rejection by my new family, the abandonment with two small children in a foreign land, the clash of cultures stemming from either ignorance, language barriers, or fear of the unknown were daunting. Understanding that being different is just that, different, and making others embrace the concept was interesting and frustrating. Not belonging to an entrenched culture and its traditions and dealing with rejection posed many dilemmas.It was important to explain in simple prose, matter of fact, what communism was like. Living under communism was not the romanticized version promoted by Hollywood on celluloid or on chic merchandise; it was not wearing the "cool" Che Guevara t-shirt of the murderer and butcher of thousands and thousands of innocents. Celebrities use their platforms and microphones to promote communism and bash the capitalist society that allowed them to become famous and rich in the first place. They have no clue what it is like to live every day under communism. Communism was re-education camps; it was poverty, misery, unfairness, proletariat and the ruling elite, death by medical neglect of the socialized medical system, shortages of everything, especially food and medicine, poor housing, no freedom of speech, religion, travel, assembly, or movement. Communism was the death of the human spirit. Communism was the premature death of my father and many others like him who happened to be in the crosshairs of communist elite interests of totalitarian control.

Author Biography

Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh was born Ileana Apostolescu in Ploiesti, Romania during the communist era of Nicolae Ceausescu. A survivor of communist utopia and its indoctrination, she immigrated to the United States in 1978. She became a proud naturalized American citizen by choice in 1982. Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh earned four college degrees in the United States, a Bachelor of Arts in German, a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Foreign Trade, a Master of Arts in German, and an Educational Doctor with emphasis in teaching Economics and Foreign Languages. As a college professor of 30 years, she taught various Economics classes. As a gifted teacher, the author taught German, Italian, Russian, and Latin. She worked as a translator for various legal and scientific organizations. The author lives in Northern Virginia with her husband David.