Courtesy of wikipedia.org
Many times I’ve written about the power of words. They can change people’s minds. They can also change us physically. In his essay, “Your Words Matter,” neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newberg writes that a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.
Words are flexible, too. They serve lies as well as the truth. Take the word homeland, for example. After the Twin Towers attack of 9/11, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security. Its purpose was to strengthen our national defenses. Over time, the agency grew and now has vast surveillance capabilities. ICE, the Immigration and Enforcement section, seems to have morphed into President Trump’s private army, one which he uses to deny due process not only to immigrants but to US citizens as well.
No longer focused on illegal immigrant crossings at our southern border, it responds to anonymous tips that could land anyone, citizens or not, in a detention center. Once there, they could be held for weeks or months with no outside contact. Many of these people, identifiable minorities, are deported without charges being filed. (“The Homeland,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, Spring 2026, pg. 36) As a result, ICE has become a tool of intimidation.
Racial profiling is encouraged by President Donald Trump. Openly, he has described immigrants from Somalia as “garbage,” and opined, “Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few?” (Ibid, pg. 35)
In 2002, the year the Department of Homeland Security was created, Peggy Noonan wrote in the Wall Street Journal that homeland was a Teutonic word, one that Adolf Hitler used to rally the faithful. (Ibid, pg. 35.)
Writer Jelani Cobb makes the same connection today, equating it with the neo-Confederate South. (Ibid, pg. 36.) Others agree that the agency is engaged in ethnic cleansing, but they also note it is extending its persecution to those who object to the “disappearance” of their neighbors. As journalist Spencer Ackerman has written, citizens from all backgrounds “are getting a taste of the treatment previously reserved for noncitizens—and for marginalized communities who live in the vulnerable reality of conditional citizenship.” (“Trump’s War on Terror,” by Spencer Ackerman, The Nation, April 2026, pg. 38.)
Trump’s push to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passed in 1978, permits the warrantless collection of Americans’ emails, text messages, phone calls, and other electronic communications. Once a tool for capturing mob bosses, it is being aimed at anyone of the President’s choosing. So far, Congress has resisted renewing the legislation, and with good reason, given the President’s thirst for vengeance.
The Brennan Center, a liberal nonprofit law and public policy institute, sees Section 702 not as a patriotic defense, but one that poses a threat to democracy. The reason is that it sets no limits on warrantless searches.
Other agencies under Trump’s control are also engaged in oppression. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently issued a list of religions he deems acceptable. It excludes a good many, including the influential Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is too young to remember the words of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic to win that high office: …religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.” (American Gospel, by Jon Meacham, Random House, 2006, Large edition, pg. 242.)
Where Hegseth’s notion of “cleansing” will lead the nation is anyone’s guess. But already, the act of neighbors helping neighbors has led to two murders. We know the victim’s names: Renée Good, mother of three children; Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse.
Europe has taken note of the growing fascism in this country. When Hegseth calls their nations weak and decaying, or accuses them of risking civilizational erasure, they are right to turn away.
Unfortunately, a few among us embrace fascism. A majority of Americans do not. As a result, we are at war with ourselves. The Midterm election is the first battle we face. We can restore democracy by voting early and supporting candidates who honor the rule of law. Recognizing who they are will be difficult, however, because the opposition wears duplicity like a second skin. Even so, we will know the pretenders by their speech. They are the men and women who exhort us to high purpose with tread-worn words like terrorist, patriot, homeland, and rigged elections.
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