A long-awaited convention that was supposed to be centered around the quintessential rebirth of the 2024 Presidential election for Democrats was essentially overshadowed by the hard truth that many of us leftists have to acknowledge: They will let us down, time and time again.
The past month has been filled with what felt like true hope and active listening from a party that has long decided to cater to the middle and push the “far left” into the shadows. First, Biden dropped out. Then, he endorsed Harris. Finally, she picked Walz as VP. For a short time, it felt like a candidate might actually listen to the demands of their constituents and have a progressive agenda filled with policies a majority of Americans find favorable. Alas, we find ourselves here. A backtrack on Medicare for all, a push for conservative border regulations, and what infuriates young voters the most: a vow to support Israel unconditionally.
When giving her acceptance speech a week ago, Harris proudly and sternly professed her message of supporting Israel in whatever way they needed. Analyzing the way Harris spoke on the attacks shows her tactical political strategy, detailing the October 7th events as a “massacre” by Hamas, while acknowledging the over 40,000 Palestinian lives as “lost”. Using an active voice for Israeli lives, while passive for Palestinians, only further pushes the idea that she is more pro-Israel than most of us may have foolishly thought.
We can’t forget about the absolute mockery the DNC made out of Palestinian-Americans, who just wanted a chance to speak at the convention to share their experience. Many politicians and speakers mentioned them in their speeches during the 4-day, multi-hour event, yet they couldn’t spare a few minutes to allow the actual group to share words. If they wanted to avoid being too political or controversial, which is ironic considering it’s a political convention, they allowed the mother of an Israeli hostage to speak, was that not political? Of course, she deserves the right to fight for her child to be free, but so do Palestinians.
You can not claim to be the party of joy and progress if you are directly at the hands of preventing joy and halting progress for a constituency.
Harris, while nowhere near where the moral compass should be, was at the very least calling for a ceasefire early on, despite Biden becoming a right-hand man for the Israeli apartheid. What changed?
Now, she is front and center.
She is the Presidential candidate, no longer in the background, so she has the most to lose. Maybe, she is worried about AIPAC funding. Perhaps, it’s pressure from senior Democratic officials. Scarily, what if this was her actual stance all along?
I don’t have the answer, but I can confirm that what most Americans support -an immediate ceasefire and an arms embargo- would only benefit her campaign. There are no voters who are solely voting on whether the US supports Israel, and if there are, I doubt they were voting blue to begin with. However, there is a large group of voters who can not vote for a candidate complicit in the genocide of their families, friends, and entire bloodlines. Hence, in the uncommitted movement we saw in the primaries for Biden, those voters didn’t change their minds because the candidate switched.
This time was supposed to be different. As a young voter, I don’t want the most lethal military in the world, contrary to what Harris believes. Nor do I want thousands of innocent lives to be lost at the hands of American weapons. I want to be able to pay off my student loans, be able to own a house, buy affordable groceries, and be able to afford care if I become ill.
That is where true joy and progress come from.
Photo Credit: AFP via Getty Images
Source:
Comentarios