A matter of cautious hope

November 13, 2025

I agree that Zohran Mamdani’s victory has brought hope, not just to the Gazans but to all who have grown appalled by the apparent inability of our current crop of leaders to address the underlying issue of inequality.

I suspect that this victory in New York City was aided by social media, and as a consequence I foresee a concerted effort to bring that avenue of public discourse under greater control.

I feel the hope this article mentions has to be tempered by two considerations. The first is, what now? Consider the dog who, having chased the car, catches it. The chase was fun, the catch even more so, but what now?

The second consideration is the example of yes-we-can/but-we-won’t Barack Obama. He too came out of seemingly nowhere, inspired great hope and then failed. Mamdani was not born in the US so a run at the presidency is not an option. That frees him to concentrate on NYC. I wish Mamdani well, and I hope the alternative media remains vibrant and free.