I know we should not read too much into political speeches. Often political leaders tell us what we want to hear, not necessarily what we should hear. But I was impressed by a second victory speech on November 3rd of 2026. That was the speech of Michigan’s Senator elect Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed (‘Abdul’) . I was thrilled by that speech. It really seemed like America was opening its doors to pluralism. Who ever thought the Americans would elect for the Senate a Muslim man with a name like that?
The motto of his campaign was “money out of politics, money in your pocket, and Medicare for all.” It summed up a lot.
When he won his Democratic primary a lot of people said it showed how stupid the Democrats were. Especially, the so-called “Woke Democrats.” They really believed it was a huge mistake and that he had no chance of winning. The mud from the negative campaigns came out full-throated. He was called a jihadist. They said he hated America.
But Abdul hit back. He referred to his opponents as “an astroturfed, corporate-funded advertising campaign built to deceive and distract.”
Abdul was also right when he said they “tried to divide us.” And he had an effective retort, “They might have been pointing to my name and my faith, but we all know that my name and my faith aren’t the reason you can’t afford your gas, not the reason you can’t afford your groceries, not the reason you can’t see a doctor.”
He compared the Republican opposition to his pluralism like this:
“they hate the idea of an America big enough for anyone who looks a little different, or prays a little different, or whose family comes from a different part of the world. That includes me, but it also includes anyone and everyone who doesn’t look like them, pray like them, love like them, or isn’t rich like them. So they turned this race into a simple choice. They want an America that is too small for some of us. We know that America is big enough for all of us. Big enough. We’re big enough to take on the crises that we face.”
That is what pluralism is all about. Abdul turned the tables on those who claimed he hated the country. This is what he said,
“they try to call you hateful if you believe that Palestinian kids should get to grow up in the land of their forefathers without being murdered by our tax dollars. If you believe in equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination, that’s not hate. It’s love.”
Abdul also alluded to the words of the architect of the American Declaration of Independence when he said, to chide his opponents:
“I love America, but I love America enough to ask her to be America for all her kids. See, America is not just a flag, not just our red, white and blue. It’s not a few patriotic songs that we sing, or even a landmass we call home. America is about these truths that we hold: that all people are created equal, and the inalienable rights we still struggle to guarantee. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.”
Abdul also used some social democratic thought when he said this:
“We don’t do this work for ourselves. We do this work for each other.
To defend us all from another generation’s youth, treasure and opportunity squandered at the altar of endless war.
To defend us all from corporate oligarchs who’ve bought and sold our government to rig the system against us.
To defend us all from a health care system more interested in monetizing our illness than healing our bodies and minds.
To defend us all from air too putrid to breathe and water too putrid to drink.
To defend us all from losing our voting rights, our reproductive rights, our human rights.”
That’s fighting for the people rather than the oligarchs.
I know fine words can be mocked, when countries don’t live up to them, but with political leaders like Abdul it will be harder for Americans not to live up to them. It sure felt like Americans took a big step on election night. I hope that is what it was.