Calling someone a conspiracy theorist is right up there with accusing them of being a Detroit Lions fan or a Sarah Palin supporter. People may envy your passionate beliefs, they may even think some of what you’re saying is true, but generally you’re
Calling someone a conspiracy theorist is right up there with accusing them of being a Detroit Lions fan or a Sarah Palin supporter. People may envy your passionate beliefs, they may even think some of what you’re saying is true, but generally you’re considered a nutcase. I am actually a big fan of conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists. You give me a free afternoon and I’ll entertain any theory I hear. You say the moon landing was fake? Why not? Tupac is still alive and starting an underground revolution in L.A. – I’ll check it out. The core of being a conspiracy theorist is not just looking for alternative explanations for why things happen but being brave enough to explore any explanation no matter how ridiculous it seems or uncomfortable it makes you. That’s what’s wrong with the “Birther Movement” against President Barack Obama, it’s not that their theory is so ridiculous, it’s that they’re too narrow-minded and cowardly to really see how far down the rabbit hole their conspiracy should take them. The Birther Movement is driven by the belief that Barack Obama was never eligible to run for president because he was not a natural born American citizen.
The Birthers, who include such luminaries as perpetual presidential candidate Alan Keyes and conservative radio host G. Gordon Liddy base their conspiracy on two main points. The first is an interview with Barack Obama’s grandmother, Sarah Obama, who claims that she was at Obama’s birth in Kenya (she later recants that claim in the same interview), the second is Obama’s refusal to produce his original birth certificate and various documents suggesting he may have been born in Canada or Kenya. The Birthers insist that their crusade would end if President Obama would turn over his birth certificate, and they’ve been urging Republican Congressmen to pressure Obama to do so.
Now of course there are dozens of refutations of the Birther’s claims. Obama’s grandma Sarah states he was born in Hawaii in the same interview where she claims he was born in Kenya, the Obama team has produced a Certificate of Live Birth from Hawaii, which is the same as a birth certificate for national security purposes but those aren’t even the most damaging counterarguments.
______
To read the rest of this article, subscribe to our digital or paper edition. For previous editions, contact us for details.
Copyright 2009 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
