--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An organizer working in and for an open…" description: "\"An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth -- truth to him is relative ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png" --- # An organizer working in and for an open society is in an… ![“An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth -- truth to him is relative and changing; everything to him is relative and changing… To the extent that he is free from the shackles of dogma, he can respond to the realities…” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png) > “An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth -- truth to him is relative and changing; everything to him is relative and changing… To the extent that he is free from the shackles of dogma, he can respond to the realities of the widely different situations…” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An organizer must accept that truth is fluid and adapt to varied circumstances without rigid dogma. **In simple terms:** Organizers thrive by staying flexible and responsive. Key Takeaway Embrace adaptability, avoid fixed truths. Themes politics activism flexibility relativism Mood reflective critical Type strategic philosophical When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - grassroots campaigns - public debates Key Concepts social change critical thinking contextual ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance flexibility with consistency? - When does relativism hinder decisive action? A Different Perspective Rigid ideologies limit responsiveness to complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Changing everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-everything-29832/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different Situations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-situations/) [Dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilemma/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogma/) [Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed/) [Fixed Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed-truth-2932091/) [Ideological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideological/) [Ideological Dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideological-dilemma-3972732/) [Organizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizer/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relative/) [Rules for radicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-for-radicals/) [Shackles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shackles/) [Shackles Dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shackles-dogma-3972733/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-relative-265919/) ## Related quotes > [My only fixed truth is a belief in people, a conviction that if people have the opportunity to act freely and the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/my-only-fixed-truth-is-a-belief-in-people-a-conviction-that-if-people/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [My parents had broken through the shackles of dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-boas/my-parents-had-broken-through-the-shackles-of-dogma/) [Franz Boas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-boas/) > [“History is not a fixed truth. It changes with the speaker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-reese/history-is-not-a-fixed-truth-it-changes-with-the-speaker/) [Jenn Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-reese/) > [“Over time, and sentence uttered long and loud enough becomes fixed. Becomes a truth. Provided, of course, you can outlast the dissent and silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-bowden/over-time-and-sentence-uttered-long-and-loud-enough-becomes-fixed/) [Oliver Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-bowden/) > [In this world laws are written for the lofty aim of "the common good" and then acted out in life on the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-this-world-laws-are-written-for-the-lofty-aim-of-the-common-good-2/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One’s concern with the ethics of means and ends varies inversely with one’s personal interest in the issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-s-concern-with-the-ethics-of-means-and-ends-varies-inversely-with/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The organizers first job is to create the issues or problems, and organizations must be based on many issues. The organizer must first rub…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizers-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or-problems-and/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [In this world laws are written for the lofty aim of "the common good" and then acted out in life on the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-this-world-laws-are-written-for-the-lofty-aim-of-the-common-good/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The preferred world can be seen any evening on television in the succession of programs where the good always wins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-preferred-world-can-be-seen-any-evening-on-television-in-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Life is there ahead of you and either one tests oneself in its challenges or huddles in the valleys of a dreamless day-to-day existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/life-is-there-ahead-of-you-and-either-one-tests-oneself-in-its/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/a-good-tactic-is-one-that-your-people-enjoy/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More Changing everything quotes > [Victory is not the absence of problems, it is the presence of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/victory-is-not-the-absence-of-problems-it-is-the-presence-of-power/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [ Where we're telling the story of the history of the ensemblist \[in the "Ensemblist Essentials"\], using the nine musicals that have won the Pulitzer… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikka-graff-lanzarone/where-we-re-telling-the-story-of-the-history-of-the-ensemblist-in-the/) [Nikka Graff Lanzarone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikka-graff-lanzarone/) > [I once dreamed of launching revolutions, sparking movements, mobilizing the masses, and changing everything. Now I’ve learned the beauty and profound significance of simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-palmer/i-once-dreamed-of-launching-revolutions-sparking-movements-mobilizing/) [Jim Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-palmer/) > [The economy is changing everything. And men need to deal with that. Our response to it has been rage, stupidity and conscious avoidance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-marche/the-economy-is-changing-everything-and-men-need-to-deal-with-that-our/) [Stephen Marche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-marche/) > [There is no such thing as permanence at all. Everything is constantly changing. Everything is in a flux. Because you cannot face the impermanence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-g-krishnamurti/there-is-no-such-thing-as-permanence-at-all-everything-is-constantly/) [U.G. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) > [It was as if we were at the heart of a maze. We were overwhelmed by the enormity of the tasks ahead. Mary had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/it-was-as-if-we-were-at-the-heart-of-a-maze-we-were-overwhelmed-by/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I like the sense of the road passing my eyes. It's always a fascinating experience to come into a new city...the sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-lake/i-like-the-sense-of-the-road-passing-my-eyes-it-s-always-a/) [Greg Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-lake/) > [I don't believe in objectivity. I observe the observer's paradox every moment I'm filming. Your presence is changing everything; there's no mistaking it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-walker/i-don-t-believe-in-objectivity-i-observe-the-observer-s-paradox-every/) [Lucy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-walker/) [Browse all 9 Changing everything quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-everything-29832/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth -- truth to him is relative and changing; everything to him is relative and changing… To the extent that he is free from the shackles of dogma, he can respond to the realities of the widely different situations…", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Alinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Changing everything" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/saul-alinsky-3048_changing-everything_an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open_456402.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have…” — Saul Alinsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Saul Alinsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An organizer working in and for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```