Jesus Was a Community Organizer

Many of you know that I am mentally tethered to National Public Radio, pretty much 8/7 (8 hours a day, 7 days a week). I am an NPR geek. You know, the type who sits in the driveway (known by NPR junkies as "the driveway moment") to listen to the end of a really good news piece, human interest story, or Click & Clack's car advice. Since my job has transitioned recently to me becoming a desk jockey, I have taken the opportunity to plug in my headphones as soon as I sit down, and joyfully spend the next 8 hours of my work day listening to "Morning Edition", "BBC World Service", "Diane Rehm", "Fresh Air", "Day To Day", and perhaps my all-time favorite "Talk of the Nation." I love call-in shows where people totally forget what they're going to say as soon as they're on the air. But I really love these shows when people let loose with the chutzpah and get downright ballsy.

Case in point. Neil Conen from "Talk of the Nation" was having a discussion about the comments that Sarah Palin made at the Republican National Convention about Barack Obama. You know, the whole, ""I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities." Ouch. Considering the town I live in, and the people I meet and work with everyday, selling community organizing down the road doesn't sit very well with me. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have our local farmer's market, the urban gardening course I'm currently taking, or many of the river cleanup days that are organized throughout the year. On a much broader scale, community organizers are the ones who helped build this nation--abolishing slavery, establishing voting rights for women, civil rights for blacks, labor rights for all. I don't know how anyone can be down on community activism. However, I'm admittedly a liberal leaning so far left I'm about to fall into the Pacific Ocean, so maybe I'm biased. However, one woman called into "Talk of the Nation" to express her opinion, and it totally threw everything into perspective.

When Neil told "Anne" she was on the air, "Anne" said, "Neil, as a Christian woman, I am very upset by Sarah Palin's comments about community organizers. We should all remember that Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor." The entire panel (and I) was completely dumbfounded. I wouldn't have even thought to go there, but evidently it took a Christian to do so. Hats off to you, "Anne."