Birthers. I've purposefully avoided writing about them for as long as I possibly could. Not, as some would suspect, for political reasons. It's true that generally I'm a supporter of President Barack Obama. In fact, I'm often less critical of him than I should be from an ideological point of view. Call it what you will, but after spending my entire adult life under either a do-nothing moderate Democrat or an inarticulate perpetual frat-boy who allowed the crypto-fascists around him to take over the country, I'm willing to cut the new guy more slack than he probably deserves. We'll call it an extended honeymoon for lack of a better term.
No, the reason I've avoided writing about the birthers up until now is because I just plain can't stand conspiracy theories.
That goes for conspiracy theories from all political corners. As far as I'm concerned, conspiracy theories always bear the mark of lazy thinking and poor reasoning skills, and those two things may just be my biggest pet peeves in the entire world. All a conspiracy theory needs in order to have a reasonable number of ardent followers is to be plausible, not provable or even likely, just plausible. Conspiracy theories never have to stand up to the same scrutiny as their targets; the burden of proof is never placed at their feet. They make extraordinary claims and rather than prove those claims, they ask any challengers to disprove them. It's Russell's Teapot gone mad!
The birthers are classic conspiracy theorists and to be frank, they're not that interesting to write about. Like all conspiracy theories, they start from a certain point of view—in this case a strong dislike for and distrust of President Obama. Next, they use this distrust and dislike to formulate an irrational—but plausible on the surface at least—theory about the President. The new theory becomes solidified gospel within the confines of the group because of the irrational fear, distrust, and hatred they all share with one another.
No amount of evidence contradicting the theory will ever be good enough for the dedicated conspiracy theorist because there's always a backup answer. You've got the birth certificate? That doesn't matter, because it's not the “real” birth certificate. You've got birth announcements in the paper? That's meaningless because those were obviously planted to make it “appear” that President Obama was born in Hawaii. Hawaii's Republican Governor and the Department of Records say the birth certificate's legit? That doesn't matter; they're part of the conspiracy too.
The reason I write all this is to illustrate the fact that rational arguments have no place in a discussion with conspiracy theorists. They've abandoned reason completely, because it doesn't line up with the version of reality that they've already accepted as undeniably true. Hence the reason every single one of these conspiracy-devastating facts fails to make a dent in the worldview of the conspiracy's true believers. The conspiracy theorists always portray themselves as people just “looking for answers”, but it's just a cover. They've already got all the answers they need thank you very much.
Do you find yourself sympathetic to the birther movement? Do you think I'm just some lefty-socialist type trying to defend my fearless leader at all costs? Try this little exercise. Take everything that I wrote about the birthers above and apply it to some other conspiracy theory. Pick whichever one you like.
It works for pretty much every conspiracy theory out there: 9/11 truthers, moon-landing deniers, the HIV virus being created intentionally by man, water fluoridation, aliens at Roswell, and many, many more. They all bear the same marks, irrational people making incredible claims while placing the burden of proof on everyone except themselves. There are people from all corners of the political spectrum involved in these wacky claims, and one on the left that's been gaining a lot of credence lately is the idea that vaccinations—specifically the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine—cause autism.
This idea has a lot of traction on the affluent white yuppie left largely because of how seamlessly it meshes with the “all natural” movement (a subject for another blog post). Despite all the scientific research to the contrary—not to mention the numerous statements released by the CDC refuting the claim—some people continue to believe that the MMR vaccine will give their kids autism. Why would they believe this? Well, because those nasty old live-saving vaccines have lots of chemicals in them, and that just can't be good. Every Doctor worth the paper his medical degree is printed on says the vaccines are absolutely not to blame for autism, but that doesn't matter because the people who believe the vaccine conspiracy nonsense suffer from all the same symptoms as the birthers. They don't like and don't trust the medical profession with its “harmful” chemicals, and that distrust, fear, and dislike lead them to gravitate toward an idea with no basis in factual research, but one that meshes well with their “all natural is best” worldview.
So what's the moral of this meandering story? It's pretty simple really. If someone makes a claim that doesn't hold up to the most basic logical scrutiny, and then sticks with that claim even after it's been refuted, that person is not to be believed. Above all I'd advise everyone to THINK. Wacky conspiracy theories don't grow well in soil that hasn't been fertilized by ignorance and preconceived biases. It's fine to disagree with President Obama. It's fine to protest and work actively against his agenda if that's what you choose to do. In fact, both of those things are healthy for democracy.
Conspiracy theories though, are not the same as legitimate protest and debate. Conspiracy theories are cancers that grow on the democratic body. They foster irrational distrust in our leadership and our institutions, and if we could allow ourselves to see past our own political and personal biases we'd see that at their core, conspiracy theories are corrosive to the very framework of our nation. They aren't just an attack on their particular targets, they're an attack on our entire country, and that's something that none of us should be in the business of supporting.
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5 comments:
Conspiracy theory is the ghost/campfire story for adult.
We love and live it, exactly because we can't stand a Known Universe that hails from chaos and so we fill in the unknowns about how and why with complex narritives, as all writers do from time to time, perhaps not even noticing at that.
We want a world with monsters, dark underworld and netherworld regions where cabals and men and money and power plays set the tones and international agendas.
Actually, there ARE campfire stories that are real. Bears are monsters, as can be wolves. And lions and other nasties in the night.
But you are correct that whether the issue is birthers not satisfied at one form of ID over the more standard form, or the Truthers playing whack-a-mole with all manner of science investigations into the doubtful resolutions on controlled demolition, graphite, and hare-brained timelines that would include TENS of THOUSANDS of people acting in concert on behalf of some Rovian/Chenian/Bushian conspiracy, they are never satiated.
To be so, one loses the game from the starting gate.
In all probability Obama was born in Hawaii, and likewise my understanding (though I don't remember and have never been to this building) I was born in Phoebe Putne hospital in Albany Georgia 42 years ago. I have the long form. He's got Hawaii's short form. For some that's not damned good enough. And so the fun stands on late night talk radio, which admittedly is good for shiggles if you wanna have some fun.
National Geographic has had specials on the Truthers who never get satiated no matter how elaborate Purdue University's engineering school's productions and replications of the horror of 911. C'est la vie.
Bigfoot, UFOs, Nessie, Bigfoot, autism from Thermerisol, it just goes on and on.
Democracy is a place no less given to this than state controlled media, where the agenda is set in stone and yet people have their (albeit more private) whispers among themselves about what "they" are up to.
People never change, Mr. George.
Glad to see we agree on this one. In a certain way, conspiracy theories are a sign of the health of democracy too I suppose.
If people have the time and the inclination to believe incredibly outrageous things like the 9/11 truthers, the birthers, or what have you, then it means they most likely don't have many real things to fear. There's no room for this sort of fantastic nonsense in countries where people have had to worry about the Gulag, the Gestapo, the gas chambers, the reeducation camp, or just plain disappearing into the night.
Authoritarian governments both left and right have given people real reason to fear. In the absence of that, some people will simply make up things to fear.
Still, the sloppy thinking and easily debunked conclusions from these people make them easy targets for ridicule on good days, and frustrating, fanatical opponents on bad ones.
However, having said all that...
I can imagine one MSNBC or CNN fan after another joyfully sucking down their after-dinner apertifs while chuckling at all those idiot rubes mentioned by Maddow, regarding the Republican Party.
Meanwhile, crickets chirp and no concern furrows the brow of these liberals when they realize that the nutcase Van Jones (Mr. "You're Assholes, Republicans") IS A TRUTHER, who thinks a sophisticated, high-level cabal of Jewish Zionists and some tens of thousands of others, including low-level federal employees and airline employees and guys in dark sunglass all the way to Average Joes drilling holes in buildings for detonation--pulled off 911 to boost a sagging, hapless George W. Bush. For poll ratings and to line some pockets.
That's your modern Democrat Party.
Not in the plupart, not. My parents were Democrats. But rather the new positions of power.
The Birthers are not in positions of prominent power and Jones' styled bullshit occupations near the White House authority, which nontheless is still enough power to make you lick boots........
The TRUTHERS are.
I feel better already, knowing that this combo of nuts and Truthers is now making sure the CIA is de facto criminalized and government is now the answser to everything, including the privacy issues surrounding one's morning coffee.
Putting suits and ties on some of these characters does not lessen the addling of their brains still feeling the fires of Neo-Marxist, Eurosocialist glop.
I can withstand liberals, at least the traditional ones, who tend to be knowledgable and highly intelligent people who merely wish to see a better world based on human input regarding whatever issue. It is true that were the ones primarily (though not exclusively) on the forefront of human rights issues and campaigns of practical mercy in yesteryear's advocacy. But the radical brand here that deems we copy the Euroglop is out of hand, and crosses the line on government intervention in the economy even for putatively good purposes. This is where we go from help to control of people.
Just as bad, we now have a situation where radicals are making policy that in large part is predicated on theoretical constructs that are apart from simple realities.
In junta like fasion, the Van Joneses belief in such ditties as cabals betrays his own interest and that of the administration in doing a "blood purge", or putsch-cleansing, of the previous crowd.
This kind of thing is less about the law on topics such as CIA dealings and waterboarding, etc, than a professional, high-level "diss" more typically found in Third World nations.
Oh Mr Tolbert. Just when I think we're being civil you have to go and make things partisan.
Van Jones signed a petition which originally only called for investigation and citizen inquiry, nothing about prior knowledge or controlled demolition or any of the other markers of the "Truther" conspiracy. Howard Zinn signed the same original petition. I suppose he's a closet truther now too right? Show me something from a reputable source--not a right-wing hack-job site--and maybe you'll have an argument with that one.
I've got to hand it to those conservative hack-job sites though, they never let a little thing like details get in the way of a good story.
Meanwhile your dismissal of birthers as not in positions of power is laughable. I suppose the names Bill Posey, Trent Franks, John Campbell, Michelle Bachman, Richard Shelby, and Roy Blunt don't ring a bell do they? These are all GOP representatives who've either sponsored birther legislation or made birther statements.
Dozens of state representatives around the country have sponsored birther bills.
Many other prominent Republican figures are either birthers themselves or have every interest in promoting the conspiracy for political reasons. Right-wing talk show hosts like Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Lars Larson, and Lou Dobbs have all promoted the wacky birther nonsense at one point or another.
Popular conservative website WorldNetDaily sponsored a letter writing campaign to the Supreme Court challenging President Obama's eligibility to serve.
I'm just barely scratching the surface here. Opinion polls find that many, and in some cases a majority of Republicans--58% in one poll--either believe President Obama is lying about his birth certificate or are not sure.
In fact, the birthers are so powerful on the right, that even though most prominent Republicans don't buy into the theory, they're still not adverse to using the theory to their political advantage. Most at the very least, are afraid to speak out against the birthers because of their political clout.
In short Mr Tolbert, reality it seems--as is often the case for you--not only disagrees with your presentation of the "facts", but the facts themselves seem to point in the exact opposite direction.
Say what you will about the truthers--there's plenty to say about them. However they never exerted a level of influence on the Democratic Party anything close to the influence the birthers have on the GOP.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Olbermann or Maddow having any truthers on their programs, though Orly Taitz has been of Fox News more times than I can count. Anecdotal evidence being what it is, that speaks pretty loudly about the state of our "modern" party structure.
Incidentally, I noticed you used the old McCarthy chestnut "Democrat Party" when referring to the Democratic Party. Please note, that while that particular slander may be fine in conservative circles, it is not fine on my site. I always refer to the Republican Party either by its name or it's accepted moniker of GOP. I expect the same courtesy to be extended to the Democratic Party when posting on my site.
http://wakepedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/dancing-with-czars.html
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