Zohran Mamdani smiles with New Yorkers, Jul. 2025
New York Times

I am not the first and certainly not the last person to express how disappointing the deep political polarization is within our country today. Part of this stems from institutional barriers, designed to keep individuals fighting each other to encourage diverse perspectives. Our democracy is kept running smoothly by the ability to debate with those you disagree with while respecting their right to hold their own viewpoints. 

But what happens when we confuse the right to speak freely with the unabridged privilege to spew hateful rhetoric? 

This past week, polls opened for the mayoral race in New York City. Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has several credible allegations of sexual harassment against him, is facing off against fellow Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The race, although in and of itself is extremely important, highlights a much deeper issue within the American political landscape: How free is speech? How free should it be?

As Mamdani shot up in the polls, many commentators took this as an opportunity to express their interest in denaturalizing Mamdani as a US citizen, noting his religion, views, and social connections as grounds to revoke his citizenship under their viewpoints. 

I cannot pretend to be shocked that this rhetoric is openly spewed by racists, but I acknowledge the normalization of these disappointing and harmful narratives. It seems that every time this issue is mentioned, people get up in arms about unfairly “attacking Republicans.”

This is not Republicanism! Let us not continue to misalign a malinformed, misintentional hate cult with the Republican Party. You can acknowledge other people’s rights to hold their own beliefs, however sinister they are, without bending your will to let others’ hate dictate domestic policy that affects us all. Many want to pretend this is just a political issue, but it’s not! It never has been! 

When you begin to suggest people “aren’t American enough” because they were born elsewhere, hold different beliefs, practice a different religion, etc., you need some serious introspection. What makes you and I an American, but not Zohran Mamdani–, who has lived here, worked, paid taxes, gotten married, become a citizen, and loved and believed in the promise of this country– just as much as he rest of us?

Part of loving something is recognizing its flaws and choosing to fight for positive change rather than watching everything you stand for be destroyed. I am a vocal advocate for voting for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on the issue, and I would not throw my support behind one candidate just because I share a party affiliation. However, I beg of you all to exhibit some basic human decency and compassion, or at the very least, some shame and guilt.

Acknowledgment: The ideas expressed in this article are those of the individual author.