> enjoying the sort of expansive freedom that I have, where I could literally walk out my door right now and be thousands of miles from here in a couple of days with nobody saying boo about it... --- I've read several accounts written by Soviet defectors that mentioned that. Some of them huddled in their house or apartment, spooked by the idea they could just go anywhere, anywhen, without getting permission or even notifying anyone. A few of them eventually went back to the USSR, knowing what was in store for them if they returned, rather than stretch their wings.