Why Voters Have a Right to Lead With Their Conscience in 2024

The world is on fire. There’s nowhere to hide from the real-life horrors that are inspiring a global uprising in response to the crimes against humanity afflicting territories that have a long and fraught history with systemic oppression and violence.

We’re currently witnessing the unfathomable via social media — an invaluable tool of engagement that links us to anywhere in the world — in real-time.

Day after day — hour after hour — we’re given updates through shared footage of an unfolding genocide staged by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) under the direction of Benjamin Netanyahu fondly known as Bibi — a sadistic colonizer who’s hellbent on wiping out generations of innocent Palestinians in a vengeful act of ethnic cleansing.

On October 7th — Hamas — a militarized terrorist group that controls the Gaza strip bordering parts of Israel — unleashed a series of coordinated attacks on Israeli communities including military bases and a music festival where many civilians were kidnapped and ultimately held hostage. It was an unprecedented event that resulted in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that very quickly escalated into what can only be described as crimes against humanity.

Israel has never played fair when it comes to the welfare of the Palestinians — a Muslim-majority, Arab nation that has suffered years and years of systemic oppression from powerful colonizers — who are committed to their nefarious agendas.

The war was supposed to be the convenient reason to bring Palestinians to their knees, under the guise of a mandated retaliation against Hamas to exert enough pressure to force the release of hostages.

But the war has turned into a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions with daily bombardments that are leveling every structure in sight including residences, houses of worship, and even hospitals.

Engagers on social media are united in utter grief at the graphic content depicting the grim discovery of the lifeless bodies of family members who met their end under the worst circumstances. Toddlers and elders are unearthed from the rubble — barely conscious and covered with the evidence of why their lives don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

And let’s not get started on the horrific confirmation that Israeli forces are targeting the power supply on the strip, which is a major dilemma for hospital ICUs struggling to keep vulnerable patients alive.

There have been reports that babies are suffocating from lack of oxygen in ICUs.
These human atrocities have been playing out for weeks — unfiltered and brutal as we are hit in the gut with updated images of more death and destruction.

It gets much worse.

Turns out that the great white hope who was ceremoniously elected the ordained successor of the Liar-in-Chief who fractured our democracy beyond repair is just as terrible as his twice-impeached successor.

President Biden has chosen to stain his legacy and hamper his chances for re-election by willfully funding the crimes against humanity that Israel is exacting on their violated neighbors who have never known freedom or the privilege of basic human rights.

The colonized are trapped in a cycle of trauma by more powerful foes who will never stop exerting their influence in ways that keep the oppressed -systemically imprisoned.

Netanyahu is a madman on a mission and instead of the Western world interjecting on behalf of innocent civilians who don’t subscribe to the ideologies of a terrorist organization that’s also terrorizing them — world leaders have opted to do pretty much nothing to end Israel’s war crimes that are a direct violation of international law.

Imagine that the Biden administration is complicit in these war crimes by providing funding and access to the weaponry being utilized to bomb everything in sight including refugee camps. Western media outlets have played a vital role in normalizing the ongoing genocide with biased reporting that dehumanizes the victims by giving the impression that Palestinians share the same extremist sentiments as Hamas.

Celebrities like Amy Schumer and Gal Gadot are using their platforms to advance pro-Israel content while vehemently opposing calls for a ceasefire until all the hostages are released. There’s zero empathy for the targeted Palestinians dying daily — turning children into orphans and forcing brave youngsters to dig themselves out of the concrete debris.

The imagery of Arab children covered in dust and blood crying out for their buried parents and siblings doesn’t seem to evoke any sense of urgency from those who wield the absolute power to lead with their humanity. Instead, we’ve been confronted with the tragic truth that exposes the traitorous nature of white supremacy at its most vile.

When members of the Biden administration addressed casualties of the Russia-Ukraine war — the raw emotions were on full display but that same proof of their humanity is never present when speaking about the Arabs being killed in massive numbers. The mood is more official and matter-of-fact with emphasis on “Israel’s right to defend itself.” Hamas is allegedly using civilians as human shields, which justifies Israel’s large-scale military operation that’s aiming to displace a whole population by any means necessary.

Biden is committed to his regrettable stance as a staunch supporter of Israel’s crimes against humanity, despite notable allies like France publicly denouncing the genocide with Macron going as far as to demand a ceasefire while Canada’s Trudeau cowardly refrains from making a bold statement.

Our leadership at home hasn’t produced nearly enough momentum behind an immediate ceasefire. The usual suspects — the vocal minority in the Democratic Party — have made it clear that they won’t rest until Biden declares a ceasefire.

In the meantime, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib — a Palestinian-American who alongside Congresswoman Ilhan Omar — frequently speaks out against Islamophobia — was recently censured by House Representatives who condemned her persistent criticisms of the Israeli government.

Tlaib gave an emotional testimony on the House floor, defending her right to freely call out the human atrocities being inflicted on her beloved community without being accused of spewing hate.

“The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent. And it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.”

Tlaib isn’t the only one weathering the consequences of speaking out against the war crime that Israel is callously implementing. Employees across the country at reputable brands are being fired for vocally expressing support for Palestinians while calling out Israel’s inhumaneness.

The one bright light in the deep darkness is the unwavering movement in key cities around the world as protesters rally in record numbers to exert pressure on world leaders to do what’s right as humans with a soul.

So far, the status quo remains as is but the winds of change are growing more aggressive with promises of more unrest on the horizon until justice is served.

When it comes to the upcoming election season — public discord is already activated as opinionated influencers sternly warn naysayers to get over their emotions or contend with another Trump presidency.

First off, folks need to stop dangling the strong possibility of another Trump presidency as the tactic to shame voters into choosing the lesser of two evils. It’s not our fault that the republic is comprised in ways that duly recognize white privilege. This explains why the worst president in U.S. history with a long rap sheet that’s only getting longer is permitted to seek another term without issue.

Voters have earned the right to lead with their conscience in 2024 and that also means refusing to re-elect a cowardly leader who is counting on the assumption that the reality of Trump’s return will spook desperate voters into giving him the win.

If Biden can unapologetically fund a war crime with colonial roots that’s further eroding the survivability of a population deemed expendable — how can we expect him to resolve civil unrest at home?

It’s no surprise that the Biden administration has failed to make significant strides in tackling the deadliness of police brutality and hate crimes that continue to be national emergencies without any tangible solutions.

Helping to terrorize non-threatening Palestinians, including women and their precious children is the more pressing matter for a dysfunctional government that just hired a MAGA Christian extremist as the new House Speaker.

For those of us who are disheartened, disillusioned, and disappointed in Biden’’s unforgivable betrayal, it’s unfair and unreasonable to expect us to award him a second term despite his questionable leadership and participation in crimes against humanity.

The fact that Donald Trump is a leading contender in the race for the White House is an ominous sign of what lies ahead.

Biden’s presidency was supposed to be the grand return to a less chaotic and more predictable climate with restorative measures placed on our democracy after it was violently attacked on January 6th.

But almost four years later — we’re battling another epic crisis that puts our collective humanity at risk, if we don’t fight to retain its value. If we don’t stand up and speak out against the evils of white evangelism that have empowered the white establishment to expand its reign of terror — we will be trapped on the wrong side of history.

Voters are tired of being disrespected with the ungodly task of habitually choosing the lesser of two evils each time the election cycle rolls around. Black voters are frustrated and displeased with how their votes are wasted on disingenuous candidates who say all the right things with grandiose delivery, only to end up championing political favors and in some cases — ill-fated war crimes.

The Biden administration is staunchly opposed to a ceasefire and would rather propose a “humanitarian pause” a popular phrase being utilized by most House Democrats who are too timid to join their more courageous counterparts in convincing a misguided president to lead with his soul rather than the influence of his supremacy.

The fact that 2024 will once again feature two elderly, privileged white men vying for the highest office in the land, despite damning track records that should legally disqualify them from the race is proof of how voters are relentlessly bamboozled.

Yes, it’s frightening to consider the reality of all-things Trump if he were to be victorious in 2024. But it’s also impossible to consider re-electing Biden after witnessing what he’s capable of as a world leader who enacted the lethality of white supremacy against vulnerable Palestinians.

Instead of using his absolute power for good — President Biden has opted to partner with a notorious colonizer by funding an active ethnic cleansing that Israeli forces are carrying out with menacing precision.

On behalf of disgruntled voters and broken-hearted citizens of the world, I’m permitting us to never back down in our quest for justice and equality for all.

We shouldn’t be shamed into selling our souls for the mandate of choosing the more civilized candidate who has proven to be anything but “civilized.” We shouldn’t be denied the privilege of exerting pressure on cowardly world leaders who would never allow the continued human atrocities in Gaza to befall a population of blonde-haired, blue-eyed civilians because that would be deemed inhumane.

America’s long-held position as the renowned world police fighting against the injustices created by global disruptors has tragically taken a dark turn and hope is nowhere in sight.

From the humanitarian crisis crippling the Congo to the genocide destroying everything in sight in Gaza — white supremacy continues to be the undefeated monster devouring cultures and displacing those who are branded expendable.

The global uprising is only going to get more energetic and on a national level we’re forced to prepare for another terrifying election season with the poorest of options that reflect why the state of our union needs a reset.

The replay of Trump versus Biden is no longer an acceptable status and however things play out — instead of casting the blame on voters who chose to lead with their conscience — apply your anger on the systems that continue to give the white establishment the upper hand.
That’s what birthed the Trump presidency and it’s responsible for the Biden administration’s ongoing war crimes.

When innocent lives are at stake — you can’t settle for the lesser of two evils. You have to hold out for the real deal even when it’s going to get costly. Biden isn’t the only American president with blood on his hands — all his predecessors are stained — but the difference is that this time — the evidence is shoved in our faces. There’s no denying Biden’s guilt as Netanyahu’s willing accomplice.

Voting for him again in 2024 would translate into an endorsement of the crimes against humanity that Biden helped unleash on defenseless Palestinians who need more than “humanitarian pauses” to survive their lives.

That’s not a decision many are willing to make and they shouldn’t have to apologize for it.