Kamala Harris is the right choice for the US — and for the world

For those of you have been following my posts and podcasts on the US election, you know where my heart and mind are. I am absolutely convinced that Kamala Harris is the best choice for the US — and for the rest of the world. Her empathetic, competent, fair and listening attitude will make her a strong and measured leader in a turbulent global moment.

She and Tim Walz have made it clear what they stand for: protecting hard-earned sexual and reproductive freedoms; concrete material measures that support the vast majority of working and middle class Americans, instead of favouring the superrich; a vibrant political debate in a vibrant democracy where those who disagree, no matter how strongly, are never the enemies; an electoral competition that follows some basic rules of decency and fairness, and steers away from toxic, destructive, divisive techniques aimed at sowing distrust and escalating conflict.

It is undeniable that they could have made a stronger case for Palestine and provided a firm stance against Israel’s brutal actions against Palestinians. The Democratic centrists’ refusal to engage with Gaza protesters have worsened the tensions and the hurt on those who are putting their lives on the line to fight for what is right in Palestine.

Yet, this remains a binary contest — that is the nature of the electoral rules in America, rules that could use some changes, but these are not changes that will occur now or in the foreseeable future. Dispersing votes for third-party candidates on the left effectively gives a hand to Trump. And voting for Trump just doesn’t make any sense. Not on any of the issues that Harris and Walz confidently stand for — and not on Palestine and Israel.

The Israeli far right openly supports Trump. Trump has no intention to put the Israeli state in check. His stance on peace is insubstantial and purely motivated by his close, likely transactional ties with a dictator such as Vladimir Putin. But most of all, Trump is intent on sowing hate and division among all groups who stand against oppression and for a better, more progressive world. If the Democratic centre has done poorly in their overall response to Gaza protesters, Trump is set to destroy any meaningful sense of progressive unity and purpose among Gaza protesters and any other progressive movements.

The horrific circus at the Trump rally in Madison Square Garden in New York last week, with Tony Hinchcliffe — a comedian almost fourty years younger than Trump — basically mimicking the Republican presidential candidate through extreme, racist and vitriolic comments (in Trumpist fashion, he calls them “jokes”) aimed at all possible progressive and minority groups, that chilling carnival of hate, this is what Trump and his allies stand for. This is the future they want for America and for the world.

There is no doubt then, in my opinion, about whom we should support. Kamala Harris is the right choice and stands on her own merits. In this binary contest, she is the only choice.

The latest polls show some positive trends towards Harris, finally turning the tide away from Trump’s gross attempts to skew results by flooding the market with biased Republican polls. The polls now indicate that a victory for Harris is entirely within reach — but statistically it is still a tie. It is a very tight race. Every single vote counts. It will only be a victory for Harris if American voters make it so.

If you have the right to vote in the US, make sure to go out and vote. Vote for Harris. And mobilise and persuade anybody in your family, social and work circles to do the same. If you are in a swing state or know people there, do the same, with even more conviction. The race might be decided by a handful of votes in any of the swing states — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.

You are doing this not only for yourself but for everyone else too. Trump and Trumpism are part of a relentless, massive propaganda operation that aims at changing our core selves, making us abandon human decency and core humanitarian values. We can and should, at the very least, defeat them at the ballot box. This is a necessary step to continue our struggle against Trumpism across society, well beyond election day.

Vote Harris and do so with the conviction that you have done the right thing — for yourself, for your family, for your country, and for your fellow citizens of the world.