It is shocking to think anyone who would label themself a progressive or liberal would do anything but support human rights and denounce genocide and ethnic cleansing, but that is not the case in the Democratic Party. There is a divide, and because there is a divide and such animosity from the democrats who support genocide toward the democrats who do not support genocide, it is acutely apparent that those who do support genocide are not progressive or liberal. Their actions and responses on addressing the reality in front of them of the actuality of mass killings and then not being able to state why it’s acceptable for thousands of innocent people to have died and for thousands or millions more is because there is a greater reality that they also have to face- they are not progressive or liberal. Maybe it is underlying racism, power of oppression, or social apathy, but all of those concepts are conservative practices and ideals.
A shift has occurred. It also occurred during the Iraq War as well, but the economy collapsed and the shift never finalized itself into creating a third or fourth party system (which we need). Within the Democrats there are two groups right now. One group is progressive, liberal ranging toward the moderates and stand against genocide. The other group is conservative and supports genocide. What would be ideal is if the Democrats against genocide created a new party encapsulating the ideals of upholding human rights as its basis. The reason for a new party is because the vote in the House of Representatives showed that only 12 Democrats were against funding the Israel siege. For that many Democrats in the House to support such funding, that speaks to where the party is at as a whole. Anyone comfortable with the destruction of Gaza and innocent people are not progressive or liberal, they are conservative. What is sad that these Democrats do not even realize that the only people who do agree with them are the extremely conservative Republicans, and there is a reason why for that, because you are no different from them.
Anyone who is not actively speaking out against the Palestinian genocide or supports it in any degree is conservative. This is the stance you took, so this is the place on the political spectrum you have chosen. No one chose that for you but yourself. There is no moving toward the progressive side once you support mass murder. All credibility is gone. All validity is gone. All morality is gone.
To witness the President of the United States question the death toll in Gaza to attempt to delegitimize the Health Ministry, and to see so many hardline Democrats blindly agree and then attack anyone who disagreed with the president, these actions are not in line with any progressive mindset but it is a mindset of autocracy. These same Democrats who agree with everything the president says and then go after any dissenters within the party are agents of oppression, which is a conservative tactic. The same could be said when Biden made claims of seeing photos of beheaded babies or blaming the bombing and deaths from the Al-Ahli hospital on jihadists, and the response from diehard Democrats was to attack those questioning the president’s misinformation. We are meant to hold our leaders accountable especially when our leaders actions do not match the promises or the ideals they have declared. This is a part of a democracy and yet these members of the same party are trying to silence those holding the president to account. Those are actions of someone who is conservative in thought and practice because those are the exact actions taken against Trump dissenters of the GOP. Those Democrats are in reality conservative. It is obvious that they are struggling with this reality because the only response they have is to attack.
Hold your elected officials to account. That is part of the role of both the politician and the electorate. Question their actions if they do not match the promises they have made. Think critically and with your conscience.
It is also important to understand that our own individual actions and thoughts place us on a specific spot within the political ideological spectrum, and we each have to accept where that actually is. If when reading this and the response is rage, I ask why the reality of your placement upsets you because you alone make your choices and generate your own thoughts; your placement on the ideological spectrum is chosen only by you.