The drift toward authoritarianism rarely announces itself with a bang; it begins long before the public recognizes the danger. It begins with language: the slow, deliberate reclassification of fellow citizens as lesser, suspect, or dangerous. Once a government convinces people that some among them are unworthy of rights or empathy, the rest becomes frighteningly easy. We are watching that process unfold in the United States. Earlier this month, after federal agents shot and killed Renee Good ,