The New York Times reports that the Trump administration, in its effort to purge the federal government of anything that might be seen as “woke,” has issued a list of problematic terms to avoid. I thought I might try to use them all.

The administration may not like this piece.

Democracy is Inclusive

Democracy is more than an embattled word. It is free and fair elections. It’s equal application of the rule of law. It’s government accountability. It’s the peaceful transfer of power. Strip any of these away, and democracy crumbles.

That’s exactly what authoritarian regimes count on. They undermine elections, apply laws selectively, dodge accountability, and cling to power at any cost. They want people distracted, disengaged, and afraid. And when that doesn’t work, they start banning words.

They love to weaponize the law. They enforce it selectively, punishing dissent while protecting their own. But democracy demands equal application of the rule of law—no matter a person’s race and ethnicity, gender identity, or socioeconomic status.

Right now, there are efforts by the administration to criminalize gender-affirming care, to punish transgender and non-binary people simply for existing. There are attacks on affirming care for young people, on access to reproductive rights for pregnant people, and even on the right to discuss racial diversity, gender diversity, and cultural differences in schools.

They also systematically suppress conversations about sexual preferences, sex, and the specific identities of transsexual and nonbinary individuals. They erase discussions about sexuality, and orientation. Theyignore bodily autonomy, especially among women, people assigned female at birth, and the needs of people who breastfeed or chestfeed and people with a uterus.

These aren’t random policies. They’re calculated moves to dismantle inclusivity, to shrink democracy so that only certain people count.

Meanwhile, injustices—racial inequality, health disparities, gender-based violence, the climate crisis—go ignored. BIPOC communities face higher rates of incarceration, harsher sentencing, and greater exposure to pollution. The climate crisis disproportionately affects key groups and underserved populations, from Native lands to the Gulf of Mexico. But instead of addressing these crises, authoritarians attack the words used to describe them.

They deny the existence of climate science, resist the move towards clean energy, and refuse to improve environmental quality. This neglect further harms vulnerable populations, particularly indigenous communities, tribal groups, commercial sex workers, and those historically disadvantaged.

Here’s the reality: marginalized communities—BIPOC, LGBTQ individuals, immigrants, people with disabilities—are always the first to feel the bootheel of oppression. When laws are biased toward the privileged, when legal protections are stripped away, when policies designed to combat America’s history of segregation and ensure equity are attacked as “divisive,” democracy itself is on the chopping block.

This results in entrenched implicit bias and implicit biases, perpetuates inequalities, and deepens divides based on stereotype, sociocultural factors, and the systemic discrimination against Black, Hispanic minority, and other minorities.

Democracy cannot thrive if we ignore the importance of mental health in civic engagement. Voter suppression, economic instability, and systemic injustice create undue stress, especially for marginalized communities. Ignoring this impact only exacerbates existing inequities, allowing authoritarian control to deepen its grip. It is no coincidence that those in power dismiss the effects of trauma on individuals and entire communities, refusing to acknowledge the traumatic consequences of their policies.

Efforts to foster an all-inclusive society are met with resistance by those who seek to maintain power through exclusion. Policies that claim to protect “traditional values” often serve as a cover for reinforcing oppressive norms that punish those who do not conform. This is particularly true when it comes to discussions of gender ideology, which authoritarian figures deliberately misrepresent to incite fear and division. Their goal is clear: to suppress an antiracist, equitable, and just society by controlling language, thought, and policy.

We must acknowledge how institutional barriers uphold inequality. The refusal to confront historically embedded biases in legal, economic, and social systems perpetuates injustice. Whether in voting rights, healthcare access, or economic mobility, the failure to address these systemic issues leaves underprivileged populations further disenfranchised. This is particularly evident in their attack on feminism, dismissing the fight for gender equality as divisive while reinforcing patriarchal structures.

The silencing of words like Latinx is a deliberate attempt to erase the evolving language of identity. It mirrors broader efforts to restrict discussions on race, gender, and cultural heritage, enforcing outdated categorizations that exclude and alienate entire communities. Their resistance to acknowledging racial identity is a tool to preserve existing power structures rather than ensuring true equality.

Ignoring expression in its many forms—whether through language, identity, or political activism—undermines democracy at its core. Free societies flourish when individuals can speak freely, live authentically, and advocate for policies that reflect their values. This includes discussions on sexuality, which they attempt to suppress by banning terms related to identity, orientation, and men who have sex with men (MSM). These policies strip entire populations of dignity and access to essential resources.

Another common authoritarian tactic is to deny the needs of men who have sex with men (MSM) in public health policy. By erasing discussions about sexuality, these regimes perpetuate harm against LGBTQ communities and obstruct necessary health services. This refusal to acknowledge reality extends to how they treat individuals who do not conform to their rigid definitions of identity and relationships.

We see this play out in restrictions on people-centered care and person-centered care, where individuals are denied medical treatment based on ideological objections rather than scientific evidence. Whether it’s banning gender-affirming care or limiting reproductive healthcare, the goal is always control.

Efforts to diversify leadership, education, and policy are critical to strengthening democracy. This requires not just token representation but a structural commitment to enhancing diversity across all sectors of society. Leaders must ensure that decision-making bodies reflect the people they serve, prioritizing inclusive policies that address systemic discrimination.

Refusing to acknowledge racial identity does not eliminate racism—it entrenches it. Pretending that colorblind policies create equality ignores the lived experiences of those who face daily discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and economic status. Those who claim to be neutral in the face of injustice only reinforce implicit bias and enable further harm.

The deliberate attack on inclusive language extends even to pronouns, with bans on words like they/them meant to invalidate nonbinary identities. This is part of a broader effort to erase trans people from public life, alongside the restriction of discussions on transsexual identities. The same forces that seek to marginalize LGBTQ communities are also behind policies that deny protections for pregnant persons and other vulnerable populations.

The refusal to address trauma—both personal and societal—only deepens cycles of injustice. The impact of state violence, voter suppression, and economic oppression leaves lasting scars, making healing and recovery more difficult for those most affected. Ignoring traumatic experiences is another way in which authoritarian regimes sustain their power.

At the heart of democracy is the idea that every person counts, regardless of identity or background. That means rejecting laws and policies that reinforce barrier after barrier to participation. It means calling out privilege when it is used to hoard power rather than uplift communities. It means recognizing that a government unwilling to address underrepresentation is one that has no interest in true democracy.

Elections must be accessible to all, no exceptions. Any government that suppresses votes, redraws districts to benefit one side, or throws up barriers to participation is not a democracy. Activism, advocacy, and allyship matter here. Without them, those in power tighten their grip while telling everyone else to sit down and stay quiet.

But timid silence is complicity. Democracy is strongest when citizen engagement is high, when leaders fear their voters more than their donors. Diverse communities, people from diverse backgrounds, and those committed to racial justice must fight back. Advocates push for inclusive leadership. Activists demand policies rooted in intersectionality.

Efforts to increase diversity  are crucial yet threatened. But a true democracy recognizes the importance of community diversity, inclusive leadership, and inclusiveness, fostering genuine inclusion and a strong sense of belonging.

Authoritarianism Thrives Where Accountability Dies

A government that will not answer to its people is no democracy. Government accountability is non-negotiable. Leaders must face consequences when they fail their citizens. They must be held to the same laws as everyone else.

Authoritarians like the current administration fear this, and so they undermine checks and balances, seek to pack courts, and ignore and repress civil society watchdogs. They demonize multicultural coalitions, attack DEI, DEIA, DEIAB, and DEIJ efforts.

Their methods include the promotion and weaponization of hate speech, deliberate neglect of trauma, reinforcement of systemic and systemically embedded biases, and propagation of oppressive policies.

They weaponize and create polarization to turn people against one another. It’s the classic playbook—divide, distract, and dismantle democracy piece by piece.

Democracy won’t defend itself. It requires people willing to stand up. It takes advocates, activists, and everyday citizens demanding fairness, demanding that free and fair elections actually mean something, that laws are applied equitably, and that power transfers peacefully when the people choose new leaders.

It takes fighting back against exclusion, against the rewriting of history, against policies that push entire communities into the shadows. It takes recognizing that banning words won’t erase reality.

A true democracy is one where citizen engagement is encouraged, where diverse groups are represented, and where power belongs to the people—not to a handful of politicians afraid of losing it.

Please let me know which banned terms I may have missed!