I'm sick to my stomach. Thanks for keeping these feelings alive and not letting us go numb. I know it comes at a cost to stay on the front lines of these images and information. I wish I had more to say here, but your words were more of an experience than an exercise in intellect.
This is how I’m feeling too. Numb from being bereft, not from indifference. Harris’s both-siderism answer to the genocide during the debate was mealy-mouthed and pathetic. I don’t want Trump to win, of that I am certain. But I would have a hard time filling in the bubble for Harris. My husband is voting for Jill Stein and I may follow suit.
Thank you, Noha. This pain you must be feeling as you continue to consume this trauma to you and your people is in some ways unfathomable to me. But I will not look away.
Thanks Amy. The both-sides-ism is insane. There are not two groups of equal power and military might here. Only one has billions of dollars in weapons and only one has completely destroyed the other's society. And only one is occupying the other's territory. And in case anyone thinks this is a tribalism issue where I only care because the victims are Arab, I would be horrified if wholesale destruction happened to any group. Thank you so much for continuing to look, Amy.
It's definitely not an easy calculous. I won't blame anyone who votes for Stein or for Harris. If you go down and look at my reply to Istiaq in the comments thread, I shared a lot more thoughts here.
Noha, I'll be reluctantly voting for Harris because I simply want Trump to go away. The bar has been set so low by Trump that we are either stuck with him or whatever the other side puts up and unfortunately the reality is if it's not Trump, it's a Democratic party that continues to allow unabated arms access for Israel and it's right wing government. My wife says at least with Harris/Walz, they can be influenced to try to have a ceasefire, even though it's the bare minimum. I don't know - feelings are obviously conflicted (I've discussed this with other progressive friends and they're in the same boat) but that's what happens when you have two choices that aren't ideal. Ranked choice voting sounds great and this two party system really sucks.
Istiaq, I don't envy you the decision you have to make. Trump is a horrible, horrible racist and will cause so much damage.
At the same time, you teach people how to treat you, and the Democrats have now clearly learned from our community that they can say some empty words and then count on our vote, while continuing to kill our brothers and sisters. In Canada, I'm thinking I will vote for the third party who has no chance in hell of winning just to teach the Liberals (our version of the Democrats) that they can't take the Arab/Muslim vote for granted, and I'll deal with a racist Conservative party for the next however long to drive that lesson home.
That said, in the US, I don't think it's dramatic to say that Trump will happily take the country all the way over to fascism if he wins, and that there then might not be a next election. So you are completely stuck between a rock and a hard place.
You’re right. You teach people how to treat you. And parties don’t automatically get votes.
The margins/polls right now are razor thin and I’m hoping to avoid that sinking feeling of trump getting back in office. Was reading the other day about how he has literally no other people to fill his cabinet or important positions besides very very questionable and looney people
I heard an episode of This American Life this summer all about the number of people he has threatened with "jail time for corruption" or some such nonsense if he gets back in office. It's honestly terrifying.
Makes you think of some of the utter lunacy that happens elsewhere in the world.
Yes, I'm reluctantly following them as necessary. Yes, I was horrified when she said that. Your article and especially your magnificent poem speak to my feelings exactly. My country is run by madmen.
Thanks Val. The people in charge want us all to think that everyone else agrees with them. It's at least a small comfort to know there are many of us who are horrified.
"We need more than a ceasefire. We need an arms embargo. We need unfettered access to aid and health workers. We need a massive influx of everything required to rebuild society in both Gaza and the West Bank, and we need the authority figures who led this charge held to account. Anything less is not justice, and not enough. "
"The demand for uncritical and open ended arms supplies to Israel.
"That demand continues. Please use your full powers to work for a permanent ceasefire by Israel in its occupied territories, through diplomacy and a block on additional arms and military support. Please help stop the mindless ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, whose American families call out in grief and pride. Against all international rules of occupation, this intentional starvation, continuous displacement, carpet bombing in "safe zones", and blockades including medical supplies can only result in indeed wiping Israel into the sea, and loss of recognition as a state with global allies beside other Middle Eastern states. The continuation of war is not a path towards a future of self-determination and dignity inclusive of Palestinians and Israelis."
I'm definitely conflicted about Kamala and I hate that she has to tiptoe around Netanyahu. Why is it even a question when so many children are being slaughtered? How is it a brave/crazy thing to say war and killing are not ways to solve a problem? It's dumbfounding. There is no choice in this election. My only hope is that she will be more open and will hire people who can do and say out loud the things she can't.
"How is it a brave/crazy thing to say war and killing are not ways to solve a problem?" This is the question, Dierdre. It's downright dystopian.
I hope the same thing as you, but I'm very skeptical, and my biggest fear is that if she's not held to account via votes, she'll never be interested in doing the right thing once she's in office. But what a tricky spot to be in as a voter.
I wrote the following to Istiaq elsewhere in the comments:
" I don't envy you the decision you have to make. Trump is a horrible, horrible racist and will cause so much damage.
At the same time, you teach people how to treat you, and the Democrats have now clearly learned from our community that they can say some empty words and then count on our vote, while continuing to kill our brothers and sisters. In Canada, I'm thinking I will vote for the third party who has no chance in hell of winning just to teach the Liberals (our version of the Democrats) that they can't take the Arab/Muslim vote for granted, and I'll deal with a racist Conservative party for the next however long to drive that lesson home.
That said, in the US, I don't think it's dramatic to say that Trump will happily take the country all the way over to fascism if he wins, and that there then might not be a next election. So you are completely stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Thank you for writing this powerful poem, Noha. I think a lot of people want to shut out these awful images, and you are doing a very good and very difficult thing by continuing to highlight them so people can’t turn away. I agree with you on the weapons embargo. It’s clear that Bibi (and probably Hamas, though I think to a lesser extent) doesn’t want a ceasefire, yet my government seems unwilling to turn the screws, which I cannot comprehend.
To answer your discussion prompts—Kamala is by no means a perfect candidate. I personally am not conflicted in voting for her because I remember 2016 and what third party votes got us. But I also completely understand people needing to vote their conscience, and the Democratic Party doesn’t seem to get that telling people that they simply must vote for Kamala because the other option is worse isn’t actually winning them support—the only thing that’s going to win that support is better policies.
Relatedly: the people calling for a ceasefire are generally on the left, i.e. coming from Kamala’s side of the political spectrum. I think means she’s somewhat more likely to be held accountable by them than Trump is because those voters probably won’t go to Trump’s side anyway, if that makes sense.
Thanks so much, Sam. I do understand the urge to vote for Kamala, and I also understand the urge to vote your conscience, even if it looks like throwing your vote away. When Democrats tell third party voters they're the only option instead of actually changing policies to attend to their actual concerns, I find it appalling. And the overall effect, election over election, is to move the country further right overall, rather than further left. Democrats spend so much time trying to court Republicans, and continually take leftist votes for granted. Imagine if they spent half that energy courting everyone else.
I'm Canadian too, Noha, and have been unsuccessfully trying not to follow the American elections. I've also been really disappointed in Kamala Harris and if I was an American, I'd be voting for Jill Stein. At least her policies are sound, and she'd stop arming Israel, and would also call for peace in Ukraine.
It's so alarming that people are willing to vote for a party and candidate that continue to support genocide. Where is the humanity?
I would do the same, Diana, and am thinking that I'll be voting NDP in our next federal election, even while knowing this will likely contribute to a Conservative victory. I cannot bring myself to vote for the Liberals, who've been dragged kicking and screaming to a slightly better policy on Palestinian human rights, but are still nowhere near where we need them. At least the Liberals will learn for the next time that they can't take my vote for granted by paying lip service to equality. I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils when it's still evil.
I'll probably vote for the NDP too, Noha. I'm not a huge fan of Jagmeet Singh, but I have a hunch that there's some pretty interesting stuff going on in the background of that Party. Just a hunch -- no proof -- but it gives me a bit of hope.
It’s like you’re in my political mind. Not huge on Singh either but they’re the only ones who’ve consistently spoken out. I feel the need to reward them and send a message to the others. I like Heather MacPherson a lot.
Noha, thanks for publishing a very effective essay about the shelling, shooting, bombing, and all things demonic being perpetrated on all Palestinians and the Gaza Strip. Nearly a full year has passed since this constant nightmare began. And still the world exhibits, for the most part, indifference. Weapons from my own country, the US, flow like a river for Netanyahu and the IDF to continue this atrocity.
The expression-the eyes especially-of the man who had been abducted and later returned, after what he cannot tell, seared my heart. Hospitals (Heaven??), schools, water systems, waste water treatment facilities, highways, markets, power systems, have vanished one by one. Returning millions to nearly prehistoric conditions. I weep.
You asked what we may have heard, on politics, that instead of impressing me brought a sense of terror? That the majority of white voters in the US prefer Trump as their 2024 choice for president. His coterie of supporters have stockpiled weapons and ammunition. Support for him from members of our armed forces. Support from Republican members of our House of Representatives (many of whom refused to certify Biden’s win on January 6, 2021. This leads me to wonder if our next civil war will result, win or lose. Elon Musk is doing more and more to support Trump’s candidacy. I am concerned and worried.
Gary, first off, can I just say how much I appreciate having you here? I've really enjoyed getting to know you through these deep, thoughtful replies.
The Trump supporters who are stockpiling weapons and ammunition utterly terrify me. People are so overconfident that "nothing can happen in America" because "it's the greatest civilization ever" without really looking at history and how civilizations rise and fall.
The Americans stockpiling, ammunition and weapons are not only willing, but excited about the possibility of Civil War. I think that's the hardest thing for me to stomach: many want it to happen.
Thank you for saying this. As I’ve aged I’ve come to rely more and more on my intuition. From my early seeing your avatar and thumbnail sketch of what you’re about, my intuition placed a prominent check mark in my mind. Of course I’ve not been disappointed for following my check mark.
The trucker embargo in your country demonstrated to me the potential to do great harm with the tap of a few keys and the endless supply of supporters. I sometimes comment, not at all in jest, that our country has begun its own “Fall of the Roman Empire.” People shrug and chalk it up to my eccentricities.
Did you live in Canada when Rob Ford was mayor? His ideas of governance, authoritarian in nature, reflected Trump’s plans now if he is elected this fall.
I greatly value our deep questions and answers, Noha.
Ok this is wild because my reply to my husband every few days when he tells me something that's happening is "decline of empire." It's become my shorthand for what I think we're witnessing with the US these days too. And it makes me sad because I think it'll be painful for both Americans and those of us nearby (Canada has been riding American coattails forever lol) but I also think we have been so blind to our insane privilege for so long. The things we take for granted others would be so happy about!
I was in Canada when Rob Ford was mayor of Toronto! In some ways, he was the original Trump - every day was a choose your own adventure! Now, believe it or not, his bully of a brother, Doug Ford, is the Premier (our equivalent of a governor) of Ontario, which is our most populated province. He's awful but he's also got it together more than his brother, which almost means he can more easily do damage.
What a powerful poem, Noha. I wrote a much less lyrical list many years ago to try to persuade one of my brothers to avoid enlisting in the military. One of my cousins told me how his Marine boot camp turned him into a killing machine -- that's all he wanted to do. All these years later he has given up hunting because he can't bear to take another life. These scars are borne by soldiers, too, and everyone they know. Thanks for your unrelenting witness.
Thanks, Joshua. Did you manage to convince your brother not to enlist?
I cannot even imagine the psychic toll, to be honest. Any time I've so much as seen an injured animal, I struggle for days (which sometimes feels hypocritical, considering how much I love beef lol).
My brother did in fact enlist but fortunately did not see combat. My cousin didn’t change his views so much as that he reached a limit. That burden is lifelong, and it is not something that star struck young people can foresee. If you don’t know Twain’s “The War Prayer,” I recommend it. He agrees with you.
I’m glad your brother didn’t see combat, and yes, you’re right, young ones don’t see it and certainly not with the constant glamorization of war. And thank you for the recommendation. I haven’t read it but it sounds right up my alley
You've done it again. You've taken something that should feel distant and brought it into every person's home, backyard, and living room. Anyone who has ever experienced love can feel the weight of this.
A wondrous post, Noha. Utterly mired in truth, truth beyond the average American citizen. The FCC whitewashes everything here, you must know. And to answer your query, you're right....in terms of peace between nation-states, no one candidate will suffice, because it's not about an individual leader, it's about a worldwide, industrialized caste system that must be broken down to its foundations, and all society will need to reboot their understandings of life, discard the millennia of trappings in white tribal supremacy and patriarchal rule. It's the only way forward. Anything less, only results in further degradation of the ecosphere and the eventual fall of civilization. Sounds dramatic, I know. But there's only two ways forward into the future. We are on the wrong road.
So powerful, so true. Thank you for your strong commitment to not close your eyes to this, Noha, and to helping open our eyes as well. I am deeply sorry that we do not have a candidate and a party in this U.S. election who has the courage to stand up for life and to dismantle this horrific war machine, to stop the flow of arms to Israel, to nurture a culture of peace. Short of that, we all have to step up and be the leaders we want to see.
Thanks for being along and keeping your eyes with me, Maia. I so appreciate it and gain so much strength from knowing I'm not alone. We do have to step up, and to continue to hold them to account. That really is the only option.
Something I didn't write here in this essay is the fact that whatever weapons they test there will eventually come back to be used by the state against "bad actors" internally. Bad actors are not criminals, but protesters, which they will and do criminalize. Police are actually given the "excess" weapons that military can't use and have become increasingly militarized over the last two decades.
I can't remember which university it was that ordered a ton of weapons for their armory (yes, they have an armory) for this fall, specifically to deal with protestors against the genocide, based on the protests that took place on campus this spring. Terrifying.
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of others. I have seen every one of the pictures on IG that you've shared throughout this post. I can't unsee what I've seen, I continue to see more, and I remember every single one of them. As an American, Palestine is the most important and the top priority to me when I will vote. I used to be a Democrat, but Palestine has opened my eyes. I realized that Democrats and Republicans are the same. It sickens and infuriates me. I will be voting third party for Jill Stein. My fury and rage increase every day along with the breaking of my heart.
Jessica, I appreciate this so deeply. Thank you for continuing to witness and for using your vote to fight for their lives. With you in solidarity, rage, and heartbreak.
I'm sick to my stomach. Thanks for keeping these feelings alive and not letting us go numb. I know it comes at a cost to stay on the front lines of these images and information. I wish I had more to say here, but your words were more of an experience than an exercise in intellect.
This is how I’m feeling too. Numb from being bereft, not from indifference. Harris’s both-siderism answer to the genocide during the debate was mealy-mouthed and pathetic. I don’t want Trump to win, of that I am certain. But I would have a hard time filling in the bubble for Harris. My husband is voting for Jill Stein and I may follow suit.
Thank you, Noha. This pain you must be feeling as you continue to consume this trauma to you and your people is in some ways unfathomable to me. But I will not look away.
Thanks Amy. The both-sides-ism is insane. There are not two groups of equal power and military might here. Only one has billions of dollars in weapons and only one has completely destroyed the other's society. And only one is occupying the other's territory. And in case anyone thinks this is a tribalism issue where I only care because the victims are Arab, I would be horrified if wholesale destruction happened to any group. Thank you so much for continuing to look, Amy.
Exactly. This is not a war. It is a one-sided slaughter and erasure of a whole society.
In this context, a vote for Jill Stein equals a half-vote for Trump and Vance.
It's definitely not an easy calculous. I won't blame anyone who votes for Stein or for Harris. If you go down and look at my reply to Istiaq in the comments thread, I shared a lot more thoughts here.
Thanks for sitting with the feelings instead of avoiding them, hon.
Noha, I'll be reluctantly voting for Harris because I simply want Trump to go away. The bar has been set so low by Trump that we are either stuck with him or whatever the other side puts up and unfortunately the reality is if it's not Trump, it's a Democratic party that continues to allow unabated arms access for Israel and it's right wing government. My wife says at least with Harris/Walz, they can be influenced to try to have a ceasefire, even though it's the bare minimum. I don't know - feelings are obviously conflicted (I've discussed this with other progressive friends and they're in the same boat) but that's what happens when you have two choices that aren't ideal. Ranked choice voting sounds great and this two party system really sucks.
Istiaq, I don't envy you the decision you have to make. Trump is a horrible, horrible racist and will cause so much damage.
At the same time, you teach people how to treat you, and the Democrats have now clearly learned from our community that they can say some empty words and then count on our vote, while continuing to kill our brothers and sisters. In Canada, I'm thinking I will vote for the third party who has no chance in hell of winning just to teach the Liberals (our version of the Democrats) that they can't take the Arab/Muslim vote for granted, and I'll deal with a racist Conservative party for the next however long to drive that lesson home.
That said, in the US, I don't think it's dramatic to say that Trump will happily take the country all the way over to fascism if he wins, and that there then might not be a next election. So you are completely stuck between a rock and a hard place.
You’re right. You teach people how to treat you. And parties don’t automatically get votes.
The margins/polls right now are razor thin and I’m hoping to avoid that sinking feeling of trump getting back in office. Was reading the other day about how he has literally no other people to fill his cabinet or important positions besides very very questionable and looney people
I heard an episode of This American Life this summer all about the number of people he has threatened with "jail time for corruption" or some such nonsense if he gets back in office. It's honestly terrifying.
Makes you think of some of the utter lunacy that happens elsewhere in the world.
Yes, I'm reluctantly following them as necessary. Yes, I was horrified when she said that. Your article and especially your magnificent poem speak to my feelings exactly. My country is run by madmen.
Thanks Val. The people in charge want us all to think that everyone else agrees with them. It's at least a small comfort to know there are many of us who are horrified.
"We need more than a ceasefire. We need an arms embargo. We need unfettered access to aid and health workers. We need a massive influx of everything required to rebuild society in both Gaza and the West Bank, and we need the authority figures who led this charge held to account. Anything less is not justice, and not enough. "
Thanks Elizabeth.
From my own letter to VP Harris during the DNC:
"The demand for uncritical and open ended arms supplies to Israel.
"That demand continues. Please use your full powers to work for a permanent ceasefire by Israel in its occupied territories, through diplomacy and a block on additional arms and military support. Please help stop the mindless ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, whose American families call out in grief and pride. Against all international rules of occupation, this intentional starvation, continuous displacement, carpet bombing in "safe zones", and blockades including medical supplies can only result in indeed wiping Israel into the sea, and loss of recognition as a state with global allies beside other Middle Eastern states. The continuation of war is not a path towards a future of self-determination and dignity inclusive of Palestinians and Israelis."
Incredibly well put!
I'm definitely conflicted about Kamala and I hate that she has to tiptoe around Netanyahu. Why is it even a question when so many children are being slaughtered? How is it a brave/crazy thing to say war and killing are not ways to solve a problem? It's dumbfounding. There is no choice in this election. My only hope is that she will be more open and will hire people who can do and say out loud the things she can't.
"How is it a brave/crazy thing to say war and killing are not ways to solve a problem?" This is the question, Dierdre. It's downright dystopian.
I hope the same thing as you, but I'm very skeptical, and my biggest fear is that if she's not held to account via votes, she'll never be interested in doing the right thing once she's in office. But what a tricky spot to be in as a voter.
I wrote the following to Istiaq elsewhere in the comments:
" I don't envy you the decision you have to make. Trump is a horrible, horrible racist and will cause so much damage.
At the same time, you teach people how to treat you, and the Democrats have now clearly learned from our community that they can say some empty words and then count on our vote, while continuing to kill our brothers and sisters. In Canada, I'm thinking I will vote for the third party who has no chance in hell of winning just to teach the Liberals (our version of the Democrats) that they can't take the Arab/Muslim vote for granted, and I'll deal with a racist Conservative party for the next however long to drive that lesson home.
That said, in the US, I don't think it's dramatic to say that Trump will happily take the country all the way over to fascism if he wins, and that there then might not be a next election. So you are completely stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Thank you for writing this powerful poem, Noha. I think a lot of people want to shut out these awful images, and you are doing a very good and very difficult thing by continuing to highlight them so people can’t turn away. I agree with you on the weapons embargo. It’s clear that Bibi (and probably Hamas, though I think to a lesser extent) doesn’t want a ceasefire, yet my government seems unwilling to turn the screws, which I cannot comprehend.
To answer your discussion prompts—Kamala is by no means a perfect candidate. I personally am not conflicted in voting for her because I remember 2016 and what third party votes got us. But I also completely understand people needing to vote their conscience, and the Democratic Party doesn’t seem to get that telling people that they simply must vote for Kamala because the other option is worse isn’t actually winning them support—the only thing that’s going to win that support is better policies.
Relatedly: the people calling for a ceasefire are generally on the left, i.e. coming from Kamala’s side of the political spectrum. I think means she’s somewhat more likely to be held accountable by them than Trump is because those voters probably won’t go to Trump’s side anyway, if that makes sense.
Thanks so much, Sam. I do understand the urge to vote for Kamala, and I also understand the urge to vote your conscience, even if it looks like throwing your vote away. When Democrats tell third party voters they're the only option instead of actually changing policies to attend to their actual concerns, I find it appalling. And the overall effect, election over election, is to move the country further right overall, rather than further left. Democrats spend so much time trying to court Republicans, and continually take leftist votes for granted. Imagine if they spent half that energy courting everyone else.
I'm Canadian too, Noha, and have been unsuccessfully trying not to follow the American elections. I've also been really disappointed in Kamala Harris and if I was an American, I'd be voting for Jill Stein. At least her policies are sound, and she'd stop arming Israel, and would also call for peace in Ukraine.
It's so alarming that people are willing to vote for a party and candidate that continue to support genocide. Where is the humanity?
I would do the same, Diana, and am thinking that I'll be voting NDP in our next federal election, even while knowing this will likely contribute to a Conservative victory. I cannot bring myself to vote for the Liberals, who've been dragged kicking and screaming to a slightly better policy on Palestinian human rights, but are still nowhere near where we need them. At least the Liberals will learn for the next time that they can't take my vote for granted by paying lip service to equality. I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils when it's still evil.
I'll probably vote for the NDP too, Noha. I'm not a huge fan of Jagmeet Singh, but I have a hunch that there's some pretty interesting stuff going on in the background of that Party. Just a hunch -- no proof -- but it gives me a bit of hope.
It’s like you’re in my political mind. Not huge on Singh either but they’re the only ones who’ve consistently spoken out. I feel the need to reward them and send a message to the others. I like Heather MacPherson a lot.
Noha, thanks for publishing a very effective essay about the shelling, shooting, bombing, and all things demonic being perpetrated on all Palestinians and the Gaza Strip. Nearly a full year has passed since this constant nightmare began. And still the world exhibits, for the most part, indifference. Weapons from my own country, the US, flow like a river for Netanyahu and the IDF to continue this atrocity.
The expression-the eyes especially-of the man who had been abducted and later returned, after what he cannot tell, seared my heart. Hospitals (Heaven??), schools, water systems, waste water treatment facilities, highways, markets, power systems, have vanished one by one. Returning millions to nearly prehistoric conditions. I weep.
You asked what we may have heard, on politics, that instead of impressing me brought a sense of terror? That the majority of white voters in the US prefer Trump as their 2024 choice for president. His coterie of supporters have stockpiled weapons and ammunition. Support for him from members of our armed forces. Support from Republican members of our House of Representatives (many of whom refused to certify Biden’s win on January 6, 2021. This leads me to wonder if our next civil war will result, win or lose. Elon Musk is doing more and more to support Trump’s candidacy. I am concerned and worried.
Gary, first off, can I just say how much I appreciate having you here? I've really enjoyed getting to know you through these deep, thoughtful replies.
The Trump supporters who are stockpiling weapons and ammunition utterly terrify me. People are so overconfident that "nothing can happen in America" because "it's the greatest civilization ever" without really looking at history and how civilizations rise and fall.
The Americans stockpiling, ammunition and weapons are not only willing, but excited about the possibility of Civil War. I think that's the hardest thing for me to stomach: many want it to happen.
Yes. It is utterly terrifying.
Thank you for saying this. As I’ve aged I’ve come to rely more and more on my intuition. From my early seeing your avatar and thumbnail sketch of what you’re about, my intuition placed a prominent check mark in my mind. Of course I’ve not been disappointed for following my check mark.
The trucker embargo in your country demonstrated to me the potential to do great harm with the tap of a few keys and the endless supply of supporters. I sometimes comment, not at all in jest, that our country has begun its own “Fall of the Roman Empire.” People shrug and chalk it up to my eccentricities.
Did you live in Canada when Rob Ford was mayor? His ideas of governance, authoritarian in nature, reflected Trump’s plans now if he is elected this fall.
I greatly value our deep questions and answers, Noha.
Ok this is wild because my reply to my husband every few days when he tells me something that's happening is "decline of empire." It's become my shorthand for what I think we're witnessing with the US these days too. And it makes me sad because I think it'll be painful for both Americans and those of us nearby (Canada has been riding American coattails forever lol) but I also think we have been so blind to our insane privilege for so long. The things we take for granted others would be so happy about!
I was in Canada when Rob Ford was mayor of Toronto! In some ways, he was the original Trump - every day was a choose your own adventure! Now, believe it or not, his bully of a brother, Doug Ford, is the Premier (our equivalent of a governor) of Ontario, which is our most populated province. He's awful but he's also got it together more than his brother, which almost means he can more easily do damage.
Thank you. Truly
Thank you for being in it with me.
What a powerful poem, Noha. I wrote a much less lyrical list many years ago to try to persuade one of my brothers to avoid enlisting in the military. One of my cousins told me how his Marine boot camp turned him into a killing machine -- that's all he wanted to do. All these years later he has given up hunting because he can't bear to take another life. These scars are borne by soldiers, too, and everyone they know. Thanks for your unrelenting witness.
Thanks, Joshua. Did you manage to convince your brother not to enlist?
I cannot even imagine the psychic toll, to be honest. Any time I've so much as seen an injured animal, I struggle for days (which sometimes feels hypocritical, considering how much I love beef lol).
I'm glad your cousin changed his views.
My brother did in fact enlist but fortunately did not see combat. My cousin didn’t change his views so much as that he reached a limit. That burden is lifelong, and it is not something that star struck young people can foresee. If you don’t know Twain’s “The War Prayer,” I recommend it. He agrees with you.
I’m glad your brother didn’t see combat, and yes, you’re right, young ones don’t see it and certainly not with the constant glamorization of war. And thank you for the recommendation. I haven’t read it but it sounds right up my alley
It is pretty amazing.
https://mcguich.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/0/8/580861/commonlit_the-war-prayer_student.pdf
Oh! Thank you for dropping the link. I have such a short attention span lately so this really helps lol
You're welcome. Can't help it. It's a retired professor thing!
You've done it again. You've taken something that should feel distant and brought it into every person's home, backyard, and living room. Anyone who has ever experienced love can feel the weight of this.
Thank you, my friend. I don't know what else to do, so i just keep doing this...
A wondrous post, Noha. Utterly mired in truth, truth beyond the average American citizen. The FCC whitewashes everything here, you must know. And to answer your query, you're right....in terms of peace between nation-states, no one candidate will suffice, because it's not about an individual leader, it's about a worldwide, industrialized caste system that must be broken down to its foundations, and all society will need to reboot their understandings of life, discard the millennia of trappings in white tribal supremacy and patriarchal rule. It's the only way forward. Anything less, only results in further degradation of the ecosphere and the eventual fall of civilization. Sounds dramatic, I know. But there's only two ways forward into the future. We are on the wrong road.
Not melodramatic in my opinion at all, Frank. I agree on every front.
So powerful, so true. Thank you for your strong commitment to not close your eyes to this, Noha, and to helping open our eyes as well. I am deeply sorry that we do not have a candidate and a party in this U.S. election who has the courage to stand up for life and to dismantle this horrific war machine, to stop the flow of arms to Israel, to nurture a culture of peace. Short of that, we all have to step up and be the leaders we want to see.
Thanks for being along and keeping your eyes with me, Maia. I so appreciate it and gain so much strength from knowing I'm not alone. We do have to step up, and to continue to hold them to account. That really is the only option.
If they are going to have the world's most lethal fighting force, make it that which can combat American poverty.
Amen amen amen.
Something I didn't write here in this essay is the fact that whatever weapons they test there will eventually come back to be used by the state against "bad actors" internally. Bad actors are not criminals, but protesters, which they will and do criminalize. Police are actually given the "excess" weapons that military can't use and have become increasingly militarized over the last two decades.
I can't remember which university it was that ordered a ton of weapons for their armory (yes, they have an armory) for this fall, specifically to deal with protestors against the genocide, based on the protests that took place on campus this spring. Terrifying.
Thank you Noha. Hard to write I’m sure. Hard to read, too. Your tone and genuinely warm heart helped me make it to the end.
I don’t feel confident in either running party, it’s nice to be in company admitting the same. 🕊️
Thanks, K. Alexandra. It is comforting. It helps to feel less alone.
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of others. I have seen every one of the pictures on IG that you've shared throughout this post. I can't unsee what I've seen, I continue to see more, and I remember every single one of them. As an American, Palestine is the most important and the top priority to me when I will vote. I used to be a Democrat, but Palestine has opened my eyes. I realized that Democrats and Republicans are the same. It sickens and infuriates me. I will be voting third party for Jill Stein. My fury and rage increase every day along with the breaking of my heart.
Jessica, I appreciate this so deeply. Thank you for continuing to witness and for using your vote to fight for their lives. With you in solidarity, rage, and heartbreak.