This morning, a long-time grassroots organizer dropped me a note. He wondered whether I’d be interested in doing a story about the life of a community organizer. He was offended — rightly — by mocking remarks at the Republican National Convention last night about community organizers (Obama’s first job) by first Rudy Giuliani and then Sarah Palin.
I thought it was a good idea, particularly if Republicans continue to demean honest toil. It seems that money and personal aggrandizement are the only measures of success for some Republicans. You see it expressed frequently, not just at the convention but among Repub visitors here. They seem to have contempt for people who aren’t rich and — worse — don’t measure their happiness by their bank account. They don’t seem to understand that fulfillment takes many forms, sometimes the least of them money. (Wasn’t there a book once that said something about the love of money?)
Some people are fulfilled by low paying jobs that secure a better life for other people. Others find great satisfaction in working for, say, a trade union or even a free newspaper. The luxury of free speech and a platform on which to practice it? Priceless, like the credit card commercial says.
Anyway, the NY Times beat us to the punch with this story about offended community organizers in New York city, a better place thanks to people like them.
UPDATE: Even Time’s Joe Klein got — and was offended by — the mockery of community workers. And he’s not easily offended by Republicans.
UPDATE II: On the jump, a guest column from a Little Rock-based community organizer.