Americans are living in dangerous times. Lawmakers, legislatures and even the Supreme Court are rolling back civil rights of various kinds. The time for unity is now.
Progressives have a dangerous habit of fighting among themselves, repeatedly proving useful only to the right. As progressives, our unity muscles have atrophied. We have many reasons to reject potential allies; we all can recite faults and perceived betrayals. But when progressives choose to partner only with people with whom they are in alignment, it’s at their own expense. The result is weakness and division.
Progressives can put themselves and their friends on pedestals while insulting others, but who does that benefit if not the other side? Progressives can set themselves up as the paragons of virtue, but virtue signaling isn’t just annoying; it’s dangerous.
At AIDS Healthcare Foundation, we have thrown ourselves into desperate life-and-death situations since our inception 36 years ago — from providing hospice care in the 1980s and 1990s to treating African AIDS patients since 2002 to saving homeless people from misery and even death today.
But we continue to come under fire for one thing or another. AHF has attracted many of its harshest attacks from within the progressive movement. This kind of infighting is counterproductive. When you punish people for taking on the hardest jobs, you discourage others from even trying.
And we have so much work to do. Let’s look at the lack of affordable housing, for instance. Six people die on the streets of Los Angeles daily. It is urgent to get them housed immediately, and one proven solution is to take advantage of the low-hanging fruit that exists in older buildings that can be renovated. However, these buildings come with plumbing, electrical and various other issues. Likewise, vulnerable people bring their own issues into housing, which creates additional challenges. That said, while entry-level housing is not ideal, it beats shelters or the streets.
The recent collapse of Skid Row Housing Trust illustrates the enormity of the problem, and the latest spike in homelessness in Los Angeles underlines the urgency.
We are not saying anyone should get an uncritical pass, but progressives should reserve condemnation for their true enemies. They should think long and hard before attacking their allies, even the ones they don’t like. Progressives may have a rationale that justifies why a particular group should be placed outside a unified tent, but the bar should be exceedingly high for this kind of disqualification.
The right is united, after all. Progressives cannot afford to be divided or discount allies because they are not “pure” enough. Whose standard is that? Can people not look at the big picture and determine whether an entity serves the greater good?
The world is full of problems that progressives risk failing to address. Accountability does not have to mean assassination. Assassination only serves the interest of the status quo. Progressives should be able to encompass multiple viewpoints respectfully, or it will be impossible to find solutions.
We are facing an existential threat to our freedoms unlike any seen before. If we are to survive this, we need to stick together. For the progressive movement, a united front — creating the broadest possible coalition — is the only road to victory.