The studio lights glimmered, casting a soft glow across the set as David, the anchor, leaned forward with a look of incredulity. The topic was heated, and the air was thick with the weight of recent events. The United States, a nation built on the ideals of freedom and democracy, was once again being compared—by some in the media—to the oppressive regime of Iran. For many, it was a careless analogy, but for Elica Le Bon, an Iranian-American attorney and activist, it was a personal affront.
Elica’s voice, though measured, carried the intensity of someone who had witnessed firsthand the horrors of authoritarian rule. Her family’s history was etched with memories of fear, repression, and loss—reminders of what it truly meant to live under the shadow of the Iranian regime. Now living in the United States, she cherished the freedoms that so many took for granted. So when she heard Whoopi Goldberg and others on the American left draw parallels between the U.S. and Iran, she felt compelled to speak out.
The Weight of Words
David began the segment with palpable disbelief. “Unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s ask someone who knows what it’s like to live under the Iranian regime, if these comparisons are valid. They are just not.” He turned to Elica, introducing her as an Iranian-American attorney and activist. “A dishonorable comment by people who have been murdered by that regime, a ridicule of their lives, and their families have gone through,” he continued, referencing the countless victims of Iran’s brutal government.
Elica took a deep breath. “It speaks to a mass collective delusion,” she began, her words deliberate and clear. “A country that provides comfort—people don’t know what it’s like to live in other parts of the world.” She explained how, since October 7, the world had become saturated with disinformation. Narratives were being twisted, terrorists were being recast as freedom fighters, and the true horrors of authoritarian regimes were being minimized or ignored.
“In Iran,” she said, her voice tightening, “they are hanging people from cranes once every six hours. Just two weeks ago, they amputated two people’s arms—they were accused of theft. Did they have due process or fair trials? No.” Her words painted a stark picture of a country where justice was a mockery, and human rights were trampled daily.
The Reality of Protest
Elica’s thoughts turned to the brave protesters in Iran. “When protesters came out in the streets, to protest against this regime—which is our right under the Constitution in the United States—did they get met with the same treatment?” she asked rhetorically. “No, they were shot to death, and their eyes shot out as punishment.” The contrast was clear: in America, protest was a protected right; in Iran, it was a death sentence.
“My response is: How dare you,” Elica said, her voice rising with emotion. “How dare you compare the life you are fortunate enough to live in the United States with what people are going through now in Iran.”
The Dangers of Historical Ignorance
David shifted the conversation to another controversial subject. “Remind people that Whoopi Goldberg has said it more than once: the Holocaust is not about race. She said, you could not tell who was Jewish. She kept repeating that.” He recounted how Goldberg had been suspended by ABC for her remarks, but had continued to insist that the Holocaust was about “man’s inhumanity to man,” not race.
Elica shook her head, troubled by the persistence of such ignorance. “This kind of willful ignorance permeates the left,” she said. “It is hard to be online and see some of the garbage people have said about Iran, in its defense.”
She spoke as someone who had once identified with progressive causes. “If you are safe because people don’t know you are a Jew, what happens when they find out?” she asked. “If you say that visibility is equal to unsafety, then the only cure you are offering these people is that they should hide. You are saying you are fine because so long as no one knows you are Jewish, you will be safe. You should not practice your religion openly or wear anything that denotes you might be of that faith.”
Elica reminded viewers that, in Nazi Germany, the authorities did know who the Jews were. “They had documents and names and passports and birth certificates. This is what it was—a Holocaust at that time. Ironically, it’s the same thing that they are bringing to the Western world today, because by disseminating this propaganda—so pro-authoritarians and terrorists, because they are fighting Jews, right?—people are now rallying behind the most dangerous regimes in the world, just because of this impulsive anti-Semitism.”
Lessons from History
Elica’s words echoed with a warning from history. “That is what happened in Nazi Germany,” she said. “They voted for the party that promised to go against Jews, and they brought in a dictatorship. That is what they will do.”
The segment ended, but the message lingered. Elica’s testimony was a powerful reminder of the dangers of false equivalence and historical amnesia. She had lived through the consequences of unchecked authoritarianism, and she understood the value of the freedoms that Americans enjoyed. Her plea was not just for accuracy, but for empathy—for an understanding that, while America was imperfect, it was not Iran.
To compare the two, she argued, was not only intellectually dishonest, but a disservice to the millions who suffered under regimes that recognized no rights, no justice, and no dissent. “How dare you,” she repeated, not just as a rebuke, but as a call to remember, to learn, and to never take freedom for granted.
