1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

Let me tell you a story. In this story, Canada—yes, Canada—has declared total war on New England. Not against soldiers. Against civilians. Against towns and families and schools. The excuse was a horrifying attack by a rogue militant group based in the region. We all condemned it. But instead of targeting the perpetrators, Canada came for everyone. They sealed the borders. No electricity. No food. No water. The entire region—millions of people—cut off from the world. Mass General lost power within 24 hours. Nurses tried to keep premature babies alive by hand. Then the generators died. Water stopped. Toilets backed up. Children began drinking from puddles or not at all. The elderly died in their homes, quietly. Thirst, infection, shock. And then the airstrikes began. Entire city blocks were flattened. Apartment buildings collapsed. A church sheltering families was bombed, then bombed again as rescue workers tried to pull survivors from the rubble. Hospitals were turned to ash. Mass graves became more common than standing homes. And when New Englanders tried to evacuate? The roads were bombed. When they huddled in UN shelters? The shelters were bombed. Canada said they were targeting militants. But the tally of the dead reads like a census of the innocent: mothers, teachers, toddlers. Desperate, the region’s officials broadcast pleas to the world. “Please. We are starving. We are dying. Help us.” Countries like Ireland and Brazil called for a ceasefire. South Africa filed charges at The Hague. But Great Britain—our supposed closest ally—vetoed every resolution. Blocked every investigation. And worse: they funded the bombs. Supplied the warplanes. “Canada has the right to defend itself,” they said. From whom? This is where the story breaks. Because it’s not New England. It’s Gaza. It’s not Canada. It’s Israel. And it’s not Great Britain. It’s the United States. ⸻ Every atrocity above is based on real, documented events. The deliberate starvation. The destruction of hospitals and schools. The bombing of aid workers and refugee camps. The targeting of evacuation routes. The mass graves. The bodies of children pulled from rubble. And the silence of those with the power to stop it. ⸻ Imagine this story happened here. How would we respond? How would we grieve, rage, demand justice? Why, then, are so many of us silent when it happens to Palestinians? If you’re feeling uncomfortable, ask yourself why. Why does your heart break when the victims are American—but look away when they’re Gazan? We are told this is complicated. But nothing about the death of tens of thousands of civilians—under siege, starved, and bombed with our money—is complicated. It is unforgivable. We must look harder. Speak louder. Ask more of our leaders, our media, and ourselves. Because if we don’t speak for Gaza now, we’re telling the world we wouldn’t speak even if it were us.