Avant-garde is originally a French term meaning “vanguard” or “advance guard” — the part of an army that moves ahead of the rest. Its use in the arts emerged from this military meaning: the front-line soldiers who advance first into battle.

Recently, the world has been commenting on and sharing views about the war in Palestine. Many humanitarians, celebrities, and public figures have expressed their opinions. At the same time, much of our generation has been reacting not only to what is being said, but to the way these viewpoints are being expressed.

The majority of these so-called “famous people” often begin their statements by condemning the actions of Palestinian groups, particularly the events of October 7, and especially any form of what they define as “violent resistance.” Only afterward do they speak of equal human worth, empathize with the killing of Palestinian children, and perhaps mention Palestinian mothers before stopping there as if the deaths of Palestinian fathers and men somehow require less acknowledgment.

This roller coaster of complex positions and selective humanitarianism has become, in many ways, a betrayal of the seventy-five-year Palestinian cause.

What it has revealed is something larger: in life, most people have limits to what they are willing or able to say. This is the rule, not the exception. Politically correct statements dominate our world for many reasons: interconnected businesses, careers, institutions, shared interests, power structures, and countless other considerations.

Everyone has a threshold that determines where they stand within the lines of humanity, truth, and moral courage. Not everyone is Avant-Garde. Some are second-liners; some are third-liners. It is important to recognize that every position has a role to play. In battle, front-liners sacrifice everything for the cause. Second-liners defend gains and ensure that progress is sustained. Even the last-liner, in a true battlefield, remains clear on the objective and committed to the cause.

In modern times, however, many of those back-end liners have become disconnected from both the cause and the people. Rather than reinforcing the line, they sometimes undermine it. I believe this has been one of the major reasons for the absence of genuine leadership in recent decades, and why the world has not witnessed another true revolution. This is not a coincidence.

Today, we seem trapped between two extremes.

On one side are those who possess genuine Avant-Garde qualities in leadership, conviction, and courage, yet are internationally marginalized, isolated, or rendered invisible. Unable to remain engaged with people on the ground, they often become distant symbols, eventually carrying the burden of a cause alone until the inevitable collapse of the “hero” who once held everything together.

On the other side are those who are internationally approved. In the logic of battle, they belong at the back of the formation, yet they dominate the front. They remain detached from the cause itself, operating within systems of power rather than in service of the people they claim to represent.

Between these two extremes stand the middle-liners, attempting to calibrate as best they can within the realities of their jobs, social standing, and places of residence.

The result is an undeniably weakened formation an army struggling to find its proper balance.

Yet there remains a small light of hope.

Across our generation, a new Avant-Garde is emerging. Young people are bringing their courage into the streets, onto the internet, into courtrooms, universities, workplaces, and every space available to them.

I believe the future is undergoing a transformation.

The front-liners are rising once again.

As for those whom the world once celebrated as leaders, experts, or humanitarians, many will gradually fade from relevance. New voices will emerge. New figures will command attention. And perhaps, in the years to come, we may witness a revolution in the sense defined above: a calibrated alignment between the Avant-Garde, the middle force, and the rear guard a formation capable of genuinely altering the course of history wherever injustice occurs.

So, where do you stand in the line?