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In 1980, John Barron published MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko. It’s the story of Victor Belenko, a Soviet fighter pilot who on September 6, 1976, defected to Japan, and then to the United States, with his MiG-25, then the hottest Soviet aircraft.

Graphic: Book Cover Scan. Author.

In many respects, the plane was crude. Designed to dash to high altitude at high speed to fire missiles at high-flying American bombers, it could attain incredible speeds for its day, but at the cost of wrecked engines.

While American experts examined every inch of the MiG, which was eventually crated and returned to the Soviets, Belenko was granted asylum in America and debriefed by his CIA handlers. The book tells of several of his handlers driving Belenko past a common strip mall. Belenko demanded to stop and see for himself what capitalism provided.

He rushed, breathless and in shock, from unremarkable store to store. There were racks of suits in all sizes and colors, TVs, electric appliances of every kind, all the goods at affordable prices we take for granted. He was particularly stunned by a common, small grocery store. He’d never seen anything like it: unimaginable choices of everything, and fresh produce, cheeses and meats of all kinds.

Belenko accused his handlers of constructing a Potemkin Village just for him to make him think ordinary Americans had the kinds of choices available only to Russia’s rulers. He was quickly assured stores like that were everywhere. Belenko’s disbelief was understandable, even though as a MiG-25 pilot, he enjoyed a far higher standard of living than most Russians. Belenko died in America in 2023, a converted Capitalist.

Circa 2025, Sarah Anderson at PJ Media tells the story of another former Communist, Anita, who has some Tik Tok following:

Graphic: Tik Tok Scan. Author.

Anita and her family were able to fly out of Cuba and make their way to Costa Rica, which is welcoming to Cuban refugees.

But what really stood out about her journey — that even made the newspaper in Costa Rica — was her reaction to the first farmers market that she saw. She called it a hard "shock to reality" and said she was so excited, like a child, because she'd never seen much food in one place in her lifetime. Let that sink in.

I can't explain to you what it feels like to come to a market and see such a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, everything... Here you can buy whatever you need. People come here and buy what they'll need for the whole week. The truth is, I don't understand why my country, Cuba, goes through so much, when everywhere else in the world people have the right and can buy the basic necessities they need to live.

The mere sight of strawberries made her "go crazy" she said, as they're one of her favorite foods, but you can't get them in Cuba. She was also amazed that she could buy plants for her home. She filmed a video, but I can't seem to embed it, so you can watch it here.

Anita follows up that video with more videos of her cooking her first Christmas meal in Costa Rica, saying that it was more than she could ever imagine. "Right now in Cuba, I would have been worried about what I was going to eat, what I could buy, how my money wouldn't stretch far enough," she said. "And yet here I had the opportunity to be in a free country where I can go out and buy as much meat as I want, buy a cake."

Everything is different in a free country:

I don't know if you know this, but Christmas isn't celebrated in Cuba. Most people don't even have enough money to buy a piece of meat or decorate their homes with lights.

Things are so incredibly different here that I invite you to appreciate it; you can't imagine how happy people are in this country, and they haven't even realized it.

Today, I'm only thinking about my family, about how many people didn't even have a plate of food to eat, how they spent Christmas without electricity, without water, without motivation, and without hope.

Anita’s story, like Victor Belenko’s provides perspective for those who have always enjoyed the benefits of freedom, but who esteem it too lightly. Even today, useful idiots have elected an Islamist Communist Mayor of New York City, and others extol the virtues of Socialism without Anita’s understanding of reality.

I’m glad Anita and her family have found what they sought. She’s the kind of immigrant we ought to welcome. Perhaps someday we will.

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.