from nytimes

To the Editor:

In her speech on Wednesday night, Sarah Palin said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.” I have some news for Ms. Palin about the responsibilities of a community organizer. I know something about it because my son Matthew is a community organizer; and in south Chicago, as it happens.

It’s true that he doesn’t have the responsibilities of a small-town mayor. He’s never had the responsibility to use authority and power to threaten to fire the librarian for not banning books that were incompatible with the mayor’s personal beliefs and tastes.

Instead, he works 12 to 14 hours every day organizing ordinary people to secure decent and affordable housing, safe working conditions and a living wage. He works long hours to help working-class people secure a better life and a safer community.

But Sarah Palin doesn’t consider that kind of work to involve any responsibilities. Apparently, her idea of responsibilities is using a position of power to push subordinates around. There’s a word for that kind of attitude: elitism.
Ned Jaeckle