Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Where did I part company with Saul Alinsky?
So if I was so fond of Saul Alinsky, why did I part company with him and others like him? I think it was because of the inconsistency (a word he hated) in his respect for the individual, on the one hand, and his purposely polarizing people in power and depicting them as 100% evil, when in fact they were probably 55% bad and 45% good. He did this polarizing tactic in order to motivate people to band together to take action, Getting people to participate in improving their lot in life was what he was all about. However, what many needed was the self-discipline to work hard, study hard, take care of their families, and encourage their children to do the same. If they were blaming all their problems on some person whom Alinsky has painted as 100% evil, then I saw that as a huge cop out.
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7 comments:
Boy have you ever hit on the biggest problem out there IMHO. Recoginizing that people are never 100% either way is a hard thing to grasp. I imagine in social work you see that even more clearly. I especially see in religious work (not church per se). I think for me this came home when I befriended someone with a gender ID problem. Didn't know that when I became friends...long story short this is a wonderful person far away from truths I hold sacred and yet we're close friends. This could easily be a long discussion.
Terri,
Yes. I am sure that if I were in Venezuela or Iran or North Korea I would have no problem seeing my leaders as 100% evil.
In America, though, there are just too many opportunities available to people. It is up to each family to encourage its members to be all that they can be in this wonderful country. That doesn't mean that we cannot work to improve things and support candidates who advocate policies that promote individual freedom and opportunity for all.
What I wanted to emphasize in this post is not the percentage thing but the cop out thing. Organizers in America are doing individuals and families no good by encouraging them to believe that their fate is determined by some evil person(s) in positions of political power. Once those persons are removed from power, the individual will find that it's still up to him or her to work hard, study hard, live by good values, and encourage their children to do the same.
And that's really the point isn't it? It is up to us as an individual to perserve in spite of any so called odds against us. You should write a book about that Bob. Make an impact like Saul did. I look back and see so many opportunities I missed because I thought someone else had power over me.
And people need to learn to think for themselves and not let others spoon feed them a lot of propaganda.
Wwebutante,
Yes, and that goes for people who get all their opinions from listening to only one side. for example, I was talking to someone today who did not know that Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law School and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. This man listens to Rush and Sean daily, and they both portray Obama as nothing but a community organizer and politician. Rush and Glenn Beck, in my opinion, are the foremost practioners of the Alinsky method of organizing people.
I agree with you Bob. There's a point too where people need to sift out not just the political personalities on the left and right, but, far more importantly figure out their principles. It's the bedrock for all other decisions.
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