Democracy, the Rhetorical Magic Wand
For those asking “Why Palestine?”
A part of me writes these essays somewhat delusionally, as if they might somehow reach and convince someone who has not already learned of the great lie about Israel/Palestine. I write as if these essays might change a mind; as if someone might read them all the way through and learn, willing to open their mind even a fraction to the possibility that their opinion on the subject could have been imposed on them.
I know this likely is not the case. If it were, I would surely be receiving some crueller comments by now from those who are experiencing cognitive dissonance and need to lash out, but if this has reached you, reader who does not understand why people are so vehemently pro-Palestine, I hope you are a person who inherently values truth, and in the pursuit of truth would be willing to at least read the essay the whole way through to learn what the argument even is. I hope that you, even in believing something different, may challenge yourself to open your mind even a fraction to the possibility that the argument in your mind might be wrong. If you read this in good faith, know that I write it also in good faith, not to attack you but just to explain, as I know the lies may not have been put in your head by your own choice.
Likely you are a person who does not understand why it is Palestine specifically that has triggered so many passionate protests across the West. Perhaps you are a person who asks: “why the obsession? When is enough enough with these protests? Why the focus specifically on Palestine, of all the political issues in the world?”
Or perhaps you are an activist yourself, but don’t see why it should be Palestine, and not Black Lives Matter, or reproductive rights or the Congo or the Sudan, that should inspire and earn the attention of so many protestors.
Why the focus on this specifically?
Why the intensity? Why the passion?
Why Palestine?
It is Palestine because, in many ways, the pain in the Sudan, and the pain in the Congo, and the pain in Kenya and the Ukraine and so many other places in the world, are in many ways a part of the same issue. But it is Palestine that has most starkly shone a light on Western hypocrisy and complicity in global wars, which shatters the ideological ground that we stand on in the West. It is Palestine that has illuminated a truth that will never allow us to look at the world in the same way again.
The illumination can perhaps be best understood by the following question posed in a Pentagon briefing from August 20, where Grayzone reporter Liam Cosgrove asked the Defense Department Spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder the following question:
“The civilian casualty rate by the Russian military is around 11,000 civilians, around 2000 children. In Gaza, it’s 40,000 civilians, 16,000 children, so that’s eight times the number of children killed in one third of the time span by Israel. So my question for you is if you could tell us about the moral calculus that has led this administration to spend over $100 billion supporting Ukraine to fight back against Russia, while we’re spending tens of billions aiding Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and using rhetoric like ‘Russia’s aggression’ [and conversely] “defending Israel,” “getting ready to defend Israel for a regional war potential in the Middle East. With that stark civilian casualty contrast, why have you determined that Russia’s the bad guy and Israel’s the good guy?”
This question excellently summarizes the obviously contradictory nature of the White House Administration regarding current foreign policies. Ryder stammered out some unsatisfying answer similar to the one officials typically attempt (“something something Hamas” “blah blah blah October 7”), but for you, reader, who may not yet understand, Israeli atrocities against Palestinians actually began long before October 7, Satan Netanyahu himself contributed deliberately to the deaths on October 7 through the use of the Hannibal Directive to excuse treating Palestine as the aggressor in the conflict, and there is plenty of evidence that indicates that Hamas alone is not to blame for the lack of a ceasefire deal, as whenever a Hamas leader attempts to negotiate peace with Israel they are typically always assassinated, demonstrating that Israel is not interested in reaching a conclusion to the war through means other than violence.
Moreover, this paired question and response from America illustrates the response to Why Palestine.
It is Palestine that reveals we cannot assume our own governments’ benevolence in foreign wars. Palestine reveals the lie, and the revelation of this lie also means that other aspects of Western ideology and actions in foreign policy inevitably must come under the microscope.
If Canada is a kind and peaceful country, for instance, then why when Israel is being accused of war crimes, and America is sending billions of dollars of weapons to them anyway, would Canada choose to manufacture $60m worthy of munitions as a part of the deal, and quietly export arms to America through the Defence Production Sharing Agreement?
Or if Kamala Harris is “working tirelessly around the clock” for a ceasefire in Gaza, then why, as the Vice President of the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, can’t she and Biden simply stop sending weapons to Israel when they are fully aware of the casualties of innocents? And why when noting the contradictory behaviour illustrated in the Grayzone’s question above, would she continue to stress that she will “always” defend Israel’s right to “defend” itself with over 40,000 innocents dead, without defending Palestine’s right to defend itself at the same time?
Why Palestine?
Because when you know the truth about Palestine, other lies may be illuminated. You may ask, for instance, that if Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, then how reliable is our understanding of what happened Syria in 2011? Wikipedia calls what happened in Syria a “civil war.” But this is also how they conceptualize the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. If we know the truth about Palestine, and we know Israel’s foreign policy choices are ethically questionable, it logically follows that we now must ask more questions about how Western military involvement in Syria was justified, because the majority of the evidence for this came through Israeli military intelligence indicating Assad was deploying chemical weapons.
More questions follow. Such as, if America is a democracy and Donald Trump is also immoral and an Israel supporter, why do people have no say in choosing a leader that is not a Zionist? And if Canadian leaders are no different, and all leaders that have a shot at becoming Prime Minister refuse equally to condemn Israel, then why do we too not have an option to elect someone that would stop a genocide? What does this mean for democracy in an ideological rather than merely a rhetorical sense?
For “democracy” is just a word. But it can be used in two ways. It can mean something in an ideological sense and it can be used it a rhetorical sense.
If politicians really champion democracy in an ideological sense, then that would mean that they value and support the concept that a country should be governed by the common people and that our leaders are meant to represent the opinion of the majority of the common people. With the genocide in Gaza, our leaders had a chance to prove that they support democracy in an ideological sense. But we have seen how our media is incredibly biased to be pro-Israel and leave out Palestinian voices while just this week, the DNC featured the voice of an Israeli-American family but refused to allow a single pro-Palestine voice to speak. Members who attended actually covered their ears rather than listen to activists reading out the names of the children killed in Palestine. If the pro-Palestine opinion cannot be represented and will not be listened to, then is this democracy?
What then does the word “democracy” become if it is not being implemented in a real, ideological sense? If it is not being used in an ideological sense, then it is only used as a rhetorical “magic wand.” Leaders pull it out and cast democracy so that their populaces fall under a spell. Cast democracy and everyone must shut up; arguments must stop. Cast democracy and we comply. Anything can be justified, because we are told if we argue against the pro-Israel stance—arguing being the most democratic action of all—then we are told we are not being pro-democracy. The magic wand has been waved, so you are now enchanted. Now any action, now any violence can be completed, because we said the word “democracy” to you, and you don’t want to be anti-democracy, do you?
Why Palestine?
Because Palestine illuminates the seriousness of what is going on at home. The tragic fate of Gaza shows us how the term “democracy” has been weaponized against Western civilians, as a rhetorical tool that will force us to accept anything they do. Removed from what the ideology is actually supposed to mean, the word has become a magic wand intended to cut off argument and erase everyone’s opinions about anything other than the will of those in power. Because no one wants to be in opposition to democracy, the word democracy is used to impede democracy.
But when you know the truth about Palestine, you emerge from a spell. You know the magic wand is not actually real, and so it can be ignored. And when you see the wand is not real, when you watch the DNC Convention and Joe Biden gets up in front of the crowd, and he raises his arms and calls out democracy over a sea of “I Love Joe” signs, you can no longer be enchanted. We know that he, just like Trump, doesn’t actually care about other people. And without the wand, the image of the DNC is not inspiring, and becomes instead creepy and terrifying, a distorted echo of Germany in 1945.
Why Palestine?
Because Palestine reminds us of the power of rhetoric. When you know the truth about Palestine, when Kamala Harris says, “I’m speaking,” you no longer hear girl-boss vibes as you are intended. You instead hear, “Only I can speak.” “Only the West speaks.” “Only we choose who are the ones who speak.”
Why Palestine?
Because Palestine revealed the errors of our path. If you are a person who found this essay, and did not believe before reading, you may still see the magic wand. But when you ignore it, it will disappear. I want to tell you I saw it too, when I poured a glass of champagne when Biden defeated Trump in 2020, and Kamala ascended to power in a white suit. But with the taste of champagne in my mouth, I did not see the bloodied corpses of Palestinian children. Now their ghosts crowd around me, and no magic wand can erase their deaths.
We are the West. We say we believe in democracy. But if this is the case in an ideological rather than a rhetorical sense, then the power of our countries should not lie in this magic wand, which is currently determining our actions in Palestine. If we truly believe in democracy, then the power and the decisions should lie with us, its people. And if we are allowed to actually choose, the genocide in Gaza will end.
Thank you for reading. If you like my writing and want to support me, please consider subscribing to support my newsletter. I write a new essay every week. To my current subscribers, thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me.
Writers and articles I’ve been reading on Substack:
The Democratic Party Exists To Make Sure Good People Do Nothing by Caitlin Johnstone
A list of Israeli lies, propaganda and genocidal intent by Hebh Jamal
“Rewarding Terrorism” in 1948 — How Zionists Used Terror to Get a State by Euroyankee
The Democrats are determined to show us how evil they are by Anti-Imperial Nexus
DNC Faces Backlash After Organizers Deny Request for Palestinian Speaker by Prem Thakker
Kamala loves Palestinians so much she wouldn't let them speak by Normal Island News
Well said, Eleanor. Palestine really is a Pandora's Box for the west. When you see the truth of what's going on, you see so many other truths, and lies that we've been led to believe.
I was not a reader that believed the magic wand as I started your essay, but I’m glad to have found it and read it. There’s still a sense of relief (I think?) in finding people illuminated by the truth of Palestine. Because Kamala in that white suit was not that long ago. So I’m hopeful there will be more and more that question their programmed beliefs. Syria for sure. The havoc done in Latin America.
That is the truth of the Palestinian cause. They are the light.