by proseandpromise
Posted on MyDD.com
There was a lot about the RNC that I found offensive tonight. But as a pastor, a resident of a small town, and a Christian who is a passionate progressive (because of issues of social justice) I was most deeply offended by the routine mocking of "community organizing." Now certainly if this were Obama's only qualification, the attack might be fair. But this is not Obama's only experience, so I can only take the GOP's dismissiveness as an attack on community organizing itself. This is a terribly flawed political strategy and betrays something that stands at the heart of this year's GOP campaign.
As a community organizer, Obama took on power for the sake of the people. He was not opposing former political allies at opportune times, he was using the power of the potential of American people to fight corrupt landlords, unfair politics, racial injustice, and the silencing of the poor in one of America's largest community.
Today I was in the home of a desperately poor man in my home town. I and two other pastors spoke with the man and worked on a plan for how we can help him restore his house into a liveable home. As I did so, Obama came to mind. My new friend (the unfortunate man) is disabled both physically and mentally. He recently purchased the home he had been renting for years. It was essentially dumped on him by a shady landlord who took advantage of an opportunity to get rid of a property he hadn't taken care of. And so my friend Gary survived a winter without water, heat, or decent access to clothing, shelter, or food. My town has a Republican mayor (and, honestly, he's a pretty good one). But that mayor has done and really can do nothing for Gary. It takes people in the community willing to work hard, sacrifice, and if I can say it with out being laughed at by the GOP, organize.
But somehow in the warped paradox that is the GOP it is ELITIST to fore sake a high paying job in order to help people like Gary. Some how it is more folksy and honorable to run a city hall, petition the federal government for money, and make political decisions from behind a desk.
I'm not totally interested in fighting the experience wars anymore, but we cannot lose site of what stands at the heart of our liberal convictions. We are people who care for the lowest people in our communities. We believe they deserve a voice. We believe they deserve a chance. We believe that they deserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And let me assure you, that doesn't come to people like Gary when we make our roads nicer, or when we bring big box stores to a town, or when we give tax cuts to the rich so they can bank roll another several thousand dollars a year while people like Gary struggle to pay their property tax. People like Gary NEED a President who has heard their voice and given them a voice. Obama is that President.
So go ahead GOP, laugh at community organizing. But those of us still in communities like Wasilla who fight day in and day out for the impoverished, the oppressed and the suffering know the value of a community organizer. We know that partisan politics, harsh rhetoric, and ideological disconnection is not the politics of the common man.
Those of us in communities across this country know that we need Barack Obama.
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