Opinion: Community Organizing

Last week Barrack Obama US Democratic Party Presidential nominee was criticized for being a Community Organizer. It was if it were a joke by both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin who made fun of his community organizing during their speeches. This just shows how out of touch they are with real people. "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities"(Palin). Perhaps Sarah Palin doesn't understand the value of community organizing due to being the mayor of a remote town of 9000 people, but to those of us who live in major centers community organizing is a major part of life.

It is through community organizing that people have been able to advocate for rights. Community organizers work on a direct level to help alleviate the barriers to those who are disadvantaged well being. It is through them that people fight to keep jobs, that we protect local environments, that programs are implemented to help the homeless and those struggling with addiction issues. Community organizers work to improve society and help those who are truly in need at their level. US Community Organizers started a blog: http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com/

As a Social Worker I have a particular bias. That bias comes with the origin of social work which was with organizing new immigrants and eventually expanding into all sections of society. Community Organizing is the legacy of Martin Luther King jr., Ghandi, César Chávez, Abbie Hoffman, and more. Especially for Ms. Palin as has been stated by many before Jesus was a community organizer, the person who ordered his death was a Governor.

Here is a rebuttal by Obama: