The following is part of a series of critiques on the topic of the Left’s multilayered failures on Syria.

Those who suffer entrust their pain in the conscience of those who take upon themselves the task of standing to injustice and oppression. Solidarity has always been an active act– an expression of a moral commitment that surpasses the narrow boundaries of carefully defined interests and gains. This is what always distinguishes solidarity from interest-based advocacy. The only gain one should hope to achieve through solidarity is to satisfy this mysterious human part of us that thrills once an oppression comes to end, when justice is served, or even when a smile is drawn on the face of a child in disruption of a gloomy sky of injustice. Solidarity comes unconditional and unbound by this ideology or that analysis, it should stem from a solid belief in human brother/sisterhood and kinship, and must be the compass that lead our hearts to give ear to the silenced screams of those who suffer and ache under all types of tyranny, repression, and exploitation. That being said, I watched in awe today people investing energy in everything but what should be the center of their dispute. Is it that hard to condemn — simply condemn the murder of hundreds of thousands of people and to take a solid stance against their butcher just to satisfy some ideological conviction.