I freely admit that there is not much Sarah Palin could have said that would have convinced me to vote for McCain because I am not voting AGAINST McCain - I am voting FOR Obama. With that filter, it was not likely Palin could have impressed me.
When Sarah Palin disparaged community organizers from a position of utter ignorance, it got personal.
A community organizer saved my life.
The story on the flip.
In the fall of my senior year of high school, my parents and I came to a total impasse over my future. They were fundamentalist Christians whose highest ambition for me was preacher's wife. I saw such a fate as literally worse than death. I did not share their religious beliefs, I certainly did not share their vision of my future, and I lived for the time when I could leave home. My teachers, meanwhile, saw my potential, and nurtured my dreams to become a scientist.
It all came to a head around my college applications: they refused to sign the paperwork I needed to apply for college and financial aid. The only option they gave me was a two year program at a religious college affiliated with their church. They hoped that since I had not met my future husband in my local church, I would meet him there, and finally settle down.
I will say that I had not inspired their trust that I could behave myself away from home without strict supervision - I was irresponsibly rebellious and I know I caused them a lot of grief. I know that they sincerely believe I am headed straight to hell and that this is still a source of anguish for them. They prayed every day and talked with the elders about how to make things better and they did the best they could within the limited options the church provided.
After they told me their decision, I felt utter despair. With all the angst that only a sixteen year old can feel, finishing high school seemed pointless. I made a rash plan to leave home - immediately.
Fortunately, I had one person in my corner: "Todd", my boyfriend, whom my parents knew nothing about. He had personal problems that made mine seem trivial: his father was beginning to show signs of AIDS, which was still new and not well-understood. "Julia" was a community organizer helping the gay community mobilize against this new threat, and she had won Todd's trust. I told my plans to him, he got scared and he told Julia everything. Julia sat me down for a strong dose of reality, and I will never forget what she told me.
"You are less than seven months from your high school graduation. If you leave now, you are throwing away your chance to go to the kind of school that will get you where you want to go. If you stick it out and finish high school, you can get there. You may not be able to go next year, but you will be able to get there eventually -- if you don't do something stupid in the meantime. If you can promise me to stay in school and work hard, I will help you."
She kept her side of the deal. She was a superb networker and she drew on her list of contacts to provide solutions to problems I didn't know I had. She convinced me to behave myself around my parents to minimize the friction in the short term. She helped me learn everything I could about scholarships and financial aid so that I could put together a workable plan for returning to school after my parents' permission was no longer required. Through her networks I found safe housing and a full time job in a research lab so that I'd be able to support myself AND stay connected to my long term dreams. She put me in contact with someone who helped me develop a plan for leaving my parents' house to minimize the risk of violence, which was a real possibility.
None of this was in her official job description, but I got a lot of opportunities to watch her in her official role that year. She brought the same energy, resourcefulness and passion to her paid work, including organizing volunteers to help Todd deal with all the complexities of his father's illness.
Less than a week after my high school graduation, I tossed a few things into a stranger's car and we drove away from my parents' house. I still count the decision to get into that car as the best decision I have made in my whole life - the one that has led to everything good in my life today. But I could never have done that without her.
I am convinced that she saved my life. Had I ran away so young, ill-prepared and naive about the world, I would have been an easy target for all kinds of trouble. For safety reasons, I never talked to her or to Todd after I left, but they hold first place in my heart, and I owe them a debt of gratitude I can never repay.
I see Sarah Palin, I see everyone who told me, "No, you can't." The work of a community organizer is to say, "Yes, We Can" - and follow up those words with deeds that change lives for the better.