Two America's
A Win for Zohran Mamdani Is a Win for the People
“I would not want to have breakfast with you! Who wants to start their day like that?” says my father, with a disgruntled chuckle over the phone.
It’s the morning of the New York Democratic Mayoral Primary, and I’ve just called him to share a political revelation (one that requires more context and nuance than I can explain in this essay). He’s joking — mostly. But he means it. My father doesn’t love talking about politics. He avoids the news. “I only focus on what I can control,” has been his mantra for years.
As we talked about the current state of the United States, he said something that stuck:
“You know, at one point, I was proud to be an American. I took so much joy in the American social experiment — a country made up of immigrants from all over the world working together. Now I see what we’re doing, and I’m disgusted.”
I told him: “I think there are two Americas. There’s the America of the people — and the America of the oligarchs.”
It may be naive to separate them in my mind. But I think there’s a sliver of legitimacy to the distinction. Because to some extent, the onus of defining what it means to be American falls on us.
The America built on racism, imperialism, that allowed capitalism to evolve into fascism is America. But the America that created jazz, hip hop, soul food, and cultural unity in unprecedented ways on a global scale is also America. The Great American Melting Pot from the Schoolhouse Rock VHS tapes is a simultaneous reality. But I truly believe all of “the people” believe in humanity and care about that the most.
What we witnessed yesterday I think represents more than a victory for Zohran Mamdani. It represents a win for The America of The People.
His policies defined his resonance, but his victory was secured by literal bodies constantly in the street — canvassing, phone banking, and talking to their neighbors with a platform of community care.
I point this out for several reasons:
We need to know what we’re capable of when we mobilize. A deeply progressive, pro-Palestine, young, Muslim candidate won the Democratic primary while the other America — the oligarchs and billionaires — outspent him by 30 million dollars with propaganda and marketing. Yet the people pushed back.
Two, our dedication to community care cannot begin and end at electoral politics. When our bodies are in the streets, that’s when magic happens. That’s when change becomes real.
Death by 1,000 cuts can work in both directions.
Sometimes, my liberal and leftist peers will post things like “If you voted for Trump, never talk to me again. Block me and save me the time.” There are definitely a handful of people I’ve needed to block for the harm they endorse, but I think we make a huge mistake when we approach politics this way.
NYC turned right in the presidential election, but now has elected one of the most progressive mayoral candidates in history in the Democratic Primary — and frankly it would be shocking if he didn’t win the general election.
What this shows me is that people aren’t sick of Democrats — they’re sick of spineless leaders with no allegiance outside of the status quo, and the billionaires and oligarchs. Trump supporters are constantly berated by the propaganda of the oligarchs — billions of dollars spent to get them to believe in imaginary enemies and policies that will harm them. But at the end of the day, what they care about is safety for their family. They’ve just been manipulated into believing it comes at the expense of someone else.
“Ignorance is not the absence of truth, it is the presence of myth.”
And as much as it sucks, it’s our responsibility to pull them into The America of the People. To understand that safety can look like bridges and doesn’t have to look like weapons. The tides can shift, and last night was an indication of that.
My father told me he only focuses on what he can control. Look what we control when we work together.
Who knows what NYC will look like in a year. It’s entirely possible that the world of electoral politics strips Zohran Mamdani of what made us excited about him in the first place — as we’ve seen with so many leaders.
But my hope is not built on hypotheticals. It’s built on knowing that the people showed up yesterday — and that late in the midnight hour, our mobility combated 30 million dollars’ worth of propaganda and didn’t let it slip.
Congratulations, Zohran Mamdani.
You have my full support as you continue to lead with the integrity, strong will, compassion, and intellectualism you brought to your campaign.
To the people:
Take a day to celebrate.
And then let’s get back to the fucking streets.
Mamdani won because the people decided to take control. Probably young people like I was when we protested the Vietnamese war and closed down universities in order to be heard. I expect that older, traditional Democrats will go after Mamdani to support Cuomo if he runs as an Independent. I hope they understand that by doing so they Curtis Sliwa. It is hard for me to see Eric Adam’s getting significant support but I’m afraid that any support he receives also increases the chance of Sliwa winning. What a disaster that would be.