Saturday, August 20, 2011

Birtherism as a Mental Disorder

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist


America's Birthers are a devout lot who will not be dissuaded by facts.  They are steadfast in their belief that Barack Obama was born outside of the United States and is therefore ineligible to be President.  Any documents that demonstrate otherwise are obvious frauds, and fifty-year-old newspaper clippings stating he was born in Hawaii were fiendishly planted in those papers half-a-century ago by his African relatives so that the mixed-race infant would have no trouble in being elected President in 2008,  Those Obama's were devious bastards!

This past week it was announced that another military service member is being released from the service for what he says was his refusal to report for duty.   He stated that he chose to be AWOL due to his belief that the President wasn't born in the United States and therefore does not have to Constitutional standing to serve as his Commander-in-Chief.  His demand that the President be arrested went unmet.

It turns out that there were probably some other issues at play, such as the man's hatred of Muslims and his belief that President Obama is somehow tied in with Muslims, his rabid dislike of the repeal of "Don't Ask - Don't Tell,"  and the fact that his co-workers, one of whom is Muslim, were growing increasingly uneasy around this individual.

But, despite all of those extraneous issues, the man, a non-commissioned officer with a total of fourteen years of active duty service, first and foremost claimed the mantle of "Birther."  He posted comments on several Birther websites and quickly became a hero to the movement - a living, breathing symbol of the tyranny that an ineligible President can foist on a uniformed American patriot.

Conspiracy theories are nothing new.  I listened to a man talk for hours one time about the trail of facts linking the assassination of President Lincoln to the assassination of President Kennedy - and he was dead serious!  A friend of mine is passionate in his belief that the U.S. government brought down the Twin Towers in a sinister plan to get the United States into war in the Middle East.  No amount of facts or film footage will alter his thinking on the subject.  It is as he says it is, that is his belief system, and that is where he finds he finds the comfort and self-validation that his body and ego require.

And it is the same for the Birthers.  They have invested so much time and energy in their fantasy that is has morphed into a very real part of who they are.  It becomes how they see the world, who their friends are, and how they spend their spare time.  Birtherism is the very core of their existence.  It was built one "fact" at a time, and it has become an impregnable fortress - one that others cannot conquer, and one that Birthers cannot leave.

Facts?  They don't need no stinking facts!

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