A Shout Out to Community Organizers

I really want to stay away from partisan politics in my blogging, but the GOP’s Vice Presidential nominee hit several of my hot buttons in her recent speech. Her speech was mean and she strikes me as a mean person and those who know me know I don’t like mean very much so I am struggling with ‘liking’ Ms. Palin. I guess there is enough of a pastor’s heart in me to also seek to love this person as a sister in Christ, since she claims to know the same Savior and Lord I do. I know I will be adding her to my prayer list.

The internal issue I am confronting, is my discomfort and feelings with the ‘dis’ I felt from Ms. Palin’s remarks. This for me is a perfect example of two people who claim the same faith not agreeing with each other. I also view one of the roles of a pastor as community organizer.

I took much umbrage wit Ms. Palin’s remarks about Community Organizers. There have been several really good rebuttals to her comments that Community Organizers don’t have any experience.

Having done community organizing, I know it is hard work. In reality community organizing is grass roots politics at its best. It is populist politics. It is getting people involved. Our local PICO group in Kansas City Communities Creating Opportunity is doing great stuff through the Churches, in much the same way the churches in south Chicago where Barack Obama worked did. The people of the community are becoming empowered to change their local communities.

What I find so interesting about this that there is a strong populist strain in Alaska politics and it seems that Ms. Palin’s remarks, upon further analysis, miss the role of community organizing in populist politics. Her remarks show that she really doesn’t know or understand the profession of community organizing or what a powerful tool it can be to bring about change. Ultimately this may come back to haunt her.

I would also like to remind all those out there that community organizing is not a partisan thing. Check out the boycotts that the American Family Association are launching via email against McDonalds for their support of what the AFA perceives to be corporate support of a ‘homosexual’ agenda. Also the Christian Coalition has effectively used community organizing techniques to mobilize the religious right. Obviously the speech writer for Ms. Palin didn’t do their homework on the history of a profession they were going discount. I need not say more, I will let my readers make their own conclusions.

Although historically associated with the ‘left’ community organizing has been effectively used by all parts of the political spectrum so I don’t want to hear garbage about it being a left wing or liberal thing. I just wanted to give a shout out to all the community organizers out there, your work is valuable and keep it up regardless of your political stripe. Community organizing is just good grass roots politics so bring it on.