The Progressive Left Deserves a Gold Medal
I write this out of love, but man are they missing the mark
Disclaimer: for anyone who hasn’t read my writing (or doesn’t have the absolute joy of knowing me in real life)…
I hold progressive values and I’ve consistently voted Democrat (for whatever that’s worth in 2025)
I think Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness > Live, Laugh, Love
I honor people’s pronouns
I openly acknowledge that this country has a scarred history when it comes to systemic racism, one that White people have benefited from (whether we are willing to acknowledge that or not)
I also try to affirm to myself that I’m on a forever journey to learn more and take in new perspectives, which often leads to discomfort, and that that’s part of the process
….I also believe Israel has a right to exist
I have to commend the Progressive Left in America: they are so dead set on focusing their efforts on the smallest possible intersection on the Venn diagram of progressive causes that they’ve essentially contorted themselves using pretzel logic into an admittedly wild combination of Handmaid’s Tale acquiescence meets anti-imperialism.
Which begs the question: are the Progressive Left the ultimate Danfans?
First things first, I used to be part of this community, and I understand how they think. (This community is full of many people who have big hearts and good intentions; you will never convince me that most of humanity is full of vindictive, ruthless assholes.) And if you’ve ever wondered if there’s a hierarchy of issues, I believe there is.
Let’s look at the timespan between 2017 and today, which saw multiple progressive flashpoints including MeToo; the Women’s March; the George Floyd protests; outrage over Trans issues, including in education, sports, and gender affirming care; family separation and immigration; and most recently, Gaza and the pro-Palestine movement.
This is a tall order of rallying cries-at-scale to occur in less than a decade, and I applaud any mass undertaking that fights for equality, equity, or justice. To me, that’s a pretty American thing to do. Where things get a bit iffy is with the pro-Palestine crowd and their apparent support of the regime in Iran.
In order to understand this somewhat confusing viewpoint, we need to accept the fact that using arguments like “…but Hamas hangs gay people!” don’t work. They just don’t. If they did, we probably would’ve seen much of the pro-Palestine movement abandon any outright or tacit support of Hamas in exchange for a more nuanced type of protesting that focuses on de-escalation and moderation. Peace, if you will!
Instead, we see a similar pattern playing out with the pro-Palestine movement’s views on Iran, and more specifically, the regime: The regime that the Iranian people have been protesting on and off since 1979, or fleeing altogether (millions of Iranians live in the diaspora). So forget women’s or LGBTQ+ rights, forget racism. These are factors that, in America, are front and center for the Progressive left, but become backseat values when looking East. The middle of the Venn diagram here is support of a people (re: Palestinians), or a government (re: Hamas or the Islamic Republic) that, to the Left, represents resistance to colonialism, something that could also be seen as the internalized guilt of living in relative comfort in the U.S.
It’s how all of the inconvenient contradictions become moot, and it’s why for many of us who do try to hold multiple uncomfortable truths at once, look to the Progressive Left and repeatedly ask ourselves, “What the fuck?” It’s why Israel is seen as the ultimate pariah, a state that “has had it coming” and is never playing defense, only grotesque offense. It’s how some of Gen Z was able to flutter up Osama bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ and basically be OK with saying “9/11 was kinda justified.” So much of the Progressive Left has narrowed their outrage to focus on who they perceive to be the most innocent and vulnerable, the ultimate victims of Western colonialism: Palestinians.
For the record, I 100% believe that Palestinians deserve to live in dignity and security with their own state under leadership that prioritizes building up Palestinian prosperity. I just so happen to also believe that Israelis deserve the same.
When examining Iran, the logic becomes even more perplexing. I’m not going to list out the regime’s crimes here, but let’s just say you can abhor Netanyahu and still admit that the Ayatollah is objectively a way worse leader (perhaps we can call him a dictator?) whose regime has invested heavily in terrorist groups and proxies across the region; the graveyard of consequences is devastating if we consider their historical footprint in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, or Iraq.
So what is it about Iran, then? Why aren’t the Progressive Left siding with the Iranian people who have protested en masse, particularly in the Women, Life, Freedom movement that we so recently saw unfold? Where girls like Mahsa Amini lost their lives at the hands of the regime, simply for daring to show their hair—the ultimate act of defiance in an Islamic theocracy?
Because the regime represents the ultimate middle finger to the West, what the Progressive Left has effectively deemed to be the root of the problem. It’s here that the Left somewhat mutates into a weird, Handmaid’s Tale sort of Right: a community that has become so fixated on distancing itself from the values that their own country was built upon to express solidarity with an entity that is the antithesis of America and tucks away women. It shouts that Iran has a right to defend itself (true), without considering why it has been attacked in the first place. It overlooks the checkered past of the regime and the instability it has sown in the Middle East in order to focus on its showdown with the ultimate aggressor, the apartheid state, and colonizer: Israel.
To overlook the anti-Semitism here is also a mistake, because let’s face it: Israeli hospitals and apartments have been bombed by Iran, but you will not hear this crowd shout war crime. And again, this is not to absolve Netanyahu or the Israeli government from its own crimes against humanity in Gaza or its blatant disregard of rescuing its own hostages through a deal, who continue to languish in uncertain conditions in Gaza. This is to simply state that the Progressive Left can not and will never admit that Israel is not the original sin of the Middle East’s instability.
What’s also disappointing is that if we look at one country over at Afghanistan, we see 50% of the population disappeared from public view, forced to walk around outside dressed as “black garbage bags,” as my Dari teacher puts it so eloquently. Girls can’t get an education past age 12, and women can’t work in most professions—recently, they’ve even been barred from appearing in windows. But, at least in the Middle East, it’s never been about women. Israel has no reason to ever attack Afghanistan (notwithstanding that the Taliban has no sympathy for Israel or the Jews), but if it did, you’d wonder if the Left would align with the Taliban, too?
When you see it through this lens, the comments in Instagram posts are never shocking; they’re just disappointing. They are a reflection of what the Left has internalized here in America as just and unjust, right and wrong. Instead of seeing the Middle East for what it is—a region that has a unique, long, and illustrious history with its own baggage, conquests, and colonialism—the grievances of American history have so influenced the Progressive Left’s mindset that it cheers for the very people who would only love to see America also wiped off the map.
One would think that after such impressive contortions, the Left would see a new perspective, but that would require a reckoning with its own hypocrisy and hubris, which I doubt we’ll ever see happen. I write this hot take not to shit on the Left, because I do believe if they truly took a moment to reflect on their views and their privilege, they’d perhaps come around to a stance that encourages peace, especially considering that this is a region thousands of miles away. I write this genuinely wishing they’d use their passion for social justice to focus on promoting co-existence, something that is both admirable and ambitious, but ultimately the most just cause.
Footnote 1
In order to answer my theoretical question, we need to know if Donald Fagen is a Zio. A quick Google search leaves me coming up empty, but I did find this, which doesn’t confirm anything except anti-Semitism is all sorts of wonderful, isn’t it?
This might be the best, most comprehensive discussion of this thorny topic I have ever read. It frames the critical questions and contradictions clearly and respectfully. Thank you.