Science fiction writer Damon Knight once stated that the popularity of conspiracy theories can be explained by our “willingness to believe that there is a certain group of people who know what they are doing.”
Wishful thinking. Few “groups of people” have been less skilled at keeping secrets than the government.
But no matter who is in power, no matter how incompetent they are, there is always that irate minority who believes that politicians have a supernatural power to deceive.
The mystery facing the nation is not President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. The mystery is how any American could believe that all of the president’s former political opponents, both the Republican and Democratic parties, Hawaii officials, and two Honolulu newspapers (no, the entire press corps) could work together to cover up the biggest fraud of the century.
Well, OK, this isn’t the biggest scam.
There was George W. Bush, who, although often accused of having the intelligence of a ripe banana, was nevertheless able to work on a convoluted North American Union agreement and mastermind an oily conspiracy that lasted centuries.
According to a 2006 Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll, more than one-third of the public suspects that Bush officials aided in the September 11 terrorist attacks or took no action to stop them so the United States could enter the war in the Middle East.
As if we needed an excuse.
President Bill Clinton’s long and verifiable history of slimy behavior has also never been enough to quench the anger of some. So we invented a Don from Little Rock who, while not shrewd enough to cover up a basic affair with a newborn intern, was still able to secretly run a cocaine trafficking operation and knock out Vince Foster.
Those who spread the Obama birth certificate conspiracy are wasting their opportunity to present any substantive argument against an administration that is waging a completely secretive and non-conspiratory fight against capitalism.
If you want to see yourself in action, take some time and find a YouTube video of Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del.
During a town hall meeting, Castle is accosted by a crowd of well-dressed Republicans who clap and shout about Obama’s uncitizenship, eventually forcing the cowering congressman to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to show his loyalty.
If conservatives believe this kind of indulgence in madness is helpful, they are mistaken.
As former Clinton White House press secretary Jake Siewert explained to Politico early in Obama’s presidency: “In a way, it’s not so bad to have them around because it reminds people that there’s really irrational hatred for the guy bubbling up in the mainstream conservative press.”
On Tuesday, by a 378-0 majority, the House passed a non-binding resolution that states, in part, that “the 44th The President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii.
Which, of course, only makes the “birther” conspiracy more credible.
It was only recently resumed thanks to the populist CNN presenter Lou Dobbs. After receiving a call from a listener of his radio show who claimed Obama was Kenyan, Dobbs replied, “Your view certainly cannot be taken lightly.”
Yes, it can certainly be overrated. If you want a “view” to be taken seriously, it needs to be supported by one or two facts, if at all possible.
On the other hand, this conspiracy movement, like others before it, must be put in its proper context, which means it should never be taken seriously.
I always think about the results of a survey conducted not too long ago, in which we learned that a surprisingly enormous number of Americans believe it is “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that the U.S. government is “secreting evidence of clever life with other planets.”
Let’s just say that given the scarcity of this particular type of life in the area, maybe we should hope that the participants are right.
We could employ some aid.
