"Community organizer? ...What's THAT?"

asked Rudy Giuliani in his Republican National Convention speech last week, thereby deriding Barack Obama and anyone else for that matter who has ever organized a grass-roots community movement, or ever even done any volunteer work for a cause. (This snarky tone was not just present in Giuliani's speech but in a number of other speeches at the RNC too, most notably in Sarah Palin's speech. As I said earlier, attack is their only recourse for this election). Republicans should feel disparaged by Giuliani's comment too; volunteering one's time, energy and/or other resources to a deeply-felt cause, be it the issue of domestic violence, of poverty and hunger, of literacy and education, or even a political cause isn't the domain of any one group of people.

Giuliani got to the point a little later: "[Barack Obama has] never had to lead people in crisis. This is not a personal attack....it's a statement of fact - Barack Obama has never led anything."

Oh, yeah?

I could make many arguments against that, but the most obvious one that comes to mind is that this entire campaign is in fact an example of Obama leading people in crisis. Not just Americans, but the entire world. We've all been watching the last 7 1/2 years in horror and despair as Bush turned the US into a neo-imperialist power, attacking and occupying a sovereign country for absolutely no reason and for no gain (except perhaps for contractors like Halliburton), taking us from $0 in deficits to $4 trillion in deficits, and burdening us with a recession. I've been working in higher education for 20 years now, and my current job involves talking to high school students from every part of the country about their lives, their passions, and their futures. One thing that I have been utterly struck by is how politically engaged today's 17- and 18-year-olds are in comparision to students of past years. The vast majority by a long shot are those who have figured out for themselves that there's something very wrong with the trajectory we're on, and who have found Obama's ideals and his proposed plans to be their hope. Why do you think they're volunteering for Obama's campaign in record numbers and making this such a historic campaign? If you want to see community organizing at its most impressive, visit http://www.barackobama.com and look around. Do a little web surfing. JFK's daughter, Caroline Kennedy said at the DNC in her endorsement of Obama that she would often hear people say that her father was such an inspiration to them and to their generation, and that she always wished there was someone who would inspire her the same way. Now finally, she said, someone does.

You don't have to be 17 to get involved. Or even 26. Or in your 30's for that matter. If you're 42 like me and are interested in getting involved, and wish to not kick yourself for having done nothing if/when McCain wins in November, then HERE is where you click to explore your options. Also, if you're a U.S. citizen (either here or abroad) and aren't sure if you're registered to vote, or aren't sure where your polling place is, HERE is where you click to find out.