Dear Governor Palin,First, congratulations on being nominated for Vice President for the Republican ticket. I realize it's not quite being the governor of the good state of Alaska, and with everything that's going on in your life, well...it's not easy.
I did want to have a nice, public talk - no, I won't bring your private life into this. Quite frankly, it's not fair, and honestly, I used up all my best jokes for Dan Quayle. No, I wanted to bring an issue to your attention, and being we're coming up on the sad anniversary of a traumatic national event, I thought it best to bring it up now.
Back at the RNC Convention, both you and Mr. Guiliani made some very negative comments about community organizers, especially in terms of Mr. Obama's past career. You seemed to indicate that, well, community organizers didn't do much except, well, check out cool sites like the Community Tool Box, and read such books as Organizing for Social Change
and Soul of a Citizen
(OK, I made up the last three points, but I think you get the picture).
The irony is that, in many ways, Republicans have attempted to be community organizers in the wake of 9/11 - to encourage people to work towards a common goal.
After all, it's been part of our history - when England wanted to tax our ancestors over tea, we collected it and threw it overboard. When England was about to invade, a silversmith got on a horse and mobilized the community to prepare for a military strike. Then, when we needed a constitution, our forefathers organized a committee and wrote a document that's served as a model for over 200 years.
My point is - community organizers do the work that politicians can't - they mobilize the citizenry. They provide the people without power the ability to hold those with power accountable. They work hard dealing with many people - and many agendas - and attempt to use a small amount of resources to engage in a large amount of social and political change. In short, they make sure that you are doing your job.
But allow me to show you a short clip of myself, back in 2005, engaging in hot, exciting community organizing (note the Hartnell-esque lapel pull):
In short, I can understand why you might be a little hesitant to embrace community organizing - after all, it assumes that people are able to take control - say, using the "Share This" button on this note to socially bookmark this post. (Or the classic "For Chicago - And Democracy", for that matter). That democracy isn't another spectator sport - it's a responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly.
But you know what? I'm ranting. I'm taking seriously a comment meant solely to pander to your supporters and garner votes...and that's Ok.
But I, most likely, will not be voting for you. Personally, the only Palin I want in the White House will protect the rights of silly people, dead parrots, and lumberjacks who wish to wear women's clothing.
Thanks for reading!
Your pal,
Gordon