Ileana Johnson: From Communist Romania to Defending US Freedom

People light candles at the Heroes of the 1989 Revolution Cemetery to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Romanian revolution's first victims in Timisoara, on Dec. 15, 2019. DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images

America is forgetting what it means to be America, and that’s not a joke, says Ileana Paugh Johnson, whose arrival to the United States is one of her best memories.

Johnson grew up in communist Romania and knows intimately the ills of a socialist society; over her years as an educator, she’s seen how quickly communism’s lies can take hold.