I am a musician, writer and journalist, born and raised in Moscow. As a Soviet expat, I am concerned about the totalitarian tendencies in the media. I know where those lead. Censorship and oppression of free expression create a world filled with fear and suffering. They also create a sea of trauma that impacts innocent human beings for generations to come. I’ve witnessed it all around me when I was a child. And no, this is not about isms, and the USSR definitely doesn’t have a patent on treating people badly—but this is the kind of cruelty that I am familiar with, and I am seeing it everywhere now. I am rubbing my eyes every day that America is very quickly becoming very much like the USSR. I am trying to do my part standing up to the attack on freedom as much as I can. Joy is better than suffering. Love is better than fear. Defending joy and love takes all of us!