Let’s call it what it is by Barry Rosenbaum

Words have power. Words do not merely describe our reality but help to construct the world as we perceive it. Thus, the words that we choose to use in our fight against fascism are critically important in shaping public opinion and, consequently, the society that we hope to build.

The current iteration of ICE should never be called a law enforcement agency because it operates in total disregard of the law. Every day now, ICE agents are pulling people out of cars, invading their homes, and kidnapping them off the street, with no apparent risk of discipline or consequence, even though they have no legal cause or basis for their actions. This is no law enforcement organization any more than the KKK was a community group. ICE should be characterized for what it is—a Nazi goon squad or Trump’s personal paramilitary organization, whichever you prefer. These names reflect its essential character and conduct. What would you call it?

Similarly, every time we address Trump as President, we are advancing a lie and bestowing respect on someone who deserves none. One of the central roles of a president is to faithfully execute and enforce the laws created by Congress. Since his inauguration almost a year ago, Trump has not had any intention of doing so. Laws, whether enacted by Congress or laid out in the Constitution, are of no import to him. Trump is a mob boss directing a massive criminal enterprise. He is Dapper Don II—a worthy successor to the notorious Gambino crime family leader also known as the Teflon Don. What would you call him?

Trump focuses most of his administration’s energy on what it perceives as the “other,” whether that be immigrants or ethnic minorities, non-Christians, or other nations. “The other” has always been a false construct. We are all part of the same human family, each possessing our own individual uniqueness worthy of respect. Not in the eyes of Dapper Don II. With the murder of Renee Good, it has become clear that we all can be viewed as “the other,” randomly subject to being stopped by ICE wherever we may be and whatever we may be doing. If an illegitimate order is disobeyed, we can be summarily executed. Don’t think it cannot happen to you.

This Administration simply does not care. In fact, it will find a way to justify such conduct. According to its playbook, if we visibly support democracy, we are antifa (a favorite MAGA bogeyman, though, “according to U.S. law enforcement, there has never been a terrorist incident in the United States connected to antifa.”—Reuters). It matters not that antifa is a highly decentralized anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement. In contrast, ICE is a centralized fascist and racist militia, armed to the teeth and willing to kill. We must sear the names of Trump, Vance, RFK Jr., Rubio, Hegseth, Bondi, Noem, Gabbard, and Miller, among others, in the public’s consciousness for who they are—swindlers and scammers, the purveyors of evil and deceit. What would you call them?

In addition to calling out this regime, we must reclaim the agenda for America’s future. For far too long, we have allowed the traitors to define the narrative. So, for instance, we must strongly and proudly reject the claim asserted for decades that an economic program designed to meet the needs of all Americans—affordable health care, education, childcare, and housing; a living wage; control over personal life choices; and a tax system that the wealthy and corporations will not be able to avoid—is somehow socialism.

These programs represent what a humane society does for its people. It should be beyond question that the wealthiest nation on earth can provide its citizens with these basic human rights. This same attack was used to try to forestall Social Security in the 1930s. Our world would look very different had it succeeded.

It is said that the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name – a name for a thing or being that expresses its true nature. The words we use shape perception, influence thought patterns, and actually rewire the brain. As our pro-democracy movement strives to build a more perfect union, we must recapture the narrative. Through this rearticulation of the world, we will defeat these traitors seeking to extinguish the soul of America.

Let’s call it what it is.