Hey, Space Monkees!
You know, this major divide between "serious" political discussion and nerdy commentaries on - typically Japanese - stuff, has lead me to wonder if perhaps I should make an entirely new blog so as to keep the tone consistent around here. I really don't know, since currently my readership is so puny that I sometimes ponder if it justifies the effort I put into one blog, let alone two. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
As is typical, I cannot understand the thoughts of a large segment of my peers. Or maybe I can understand but the truth would require such a cynical explanation that I refuse to accept it. This time my confusion is about the hottest conspiracy theory to hit America: the idea that Barack Obama was not actually born in the United States.
The "Birthers", despite sounding like a benevolent organization advocating human reproduction, is actually a group of some seriously ignorant people. Despite conclusive documentary and State Department evidence that the 44th President of the United States was in fact born in Hawaii, these people continue to insist that in fact he was born in Kenya, or perhaps Indonesia. The actual birthplace is unimportant, just as long as Obama is sufficiently proven to be Constitutionally disqualified to be President. And then, I guess, they think that somehow the United States will be saved from a socialist tyrant and return to a proper Christian nation. Its total nonsense, like every conspiracy theory, and I'm not going to get into the specifics of each detail proving Obama's citizenship - that's a job already done.
Instead, let's perform a little thought experiment. Let's pretend that Barack Obama really was born in Kenya, and really is unable to be President by the Constitution. What happens then? The Constitution states that he cannot become President, but the problem is that he already is in Office. This revelation would begin the largest Constitutional crisis this country has seen since the Civil War. Impeachment is the only instrument in the government that can be used to remove the President from office, but what High Crimes and Misdemeanors has Obama committed? The Birthers assume, as an article of faith as incredible as their entire conspiracy theory, that Obama knew of his birthplace and so falsified the past so that he could con his way into office, so perhaps you could use Fraud to remove him from the Presidency. I would assume that Biden would become President then, being the VP, but what number would he take? Would Obama be President "#44*" and Biden the real #44, or would Biden just be the 45th President? Is the entire 2008 election even valid anymore? Would a special emergency election have to be held during the meantime? Who would be running the Executive Branch of government during this election? Ultimately what the Birthers want to happen is nothing less than mass governmental chaos and confusion that may last years, which unfortunately would take place during a time period where America needs a leader more than ever. Somehow the Birthers think that this scenario is somehow far better than Obama serving out his four to eight year term peacefully.
But there is more to the Birther beliefs, something much more sinister. You see, behind all of these conspiracy theories is that basic assumption: somebody who isn't born in this country are not true Americans. Even if Obama was born in Kenya, he still would have lived his entire conscious life here as a citizen of this country like everybody else. Does spending your first few weeks as a baby in another country mean that you are a person who should not be allowed to serve as the President of the United States? The Birthers take it even further, with a prejudice that not only is Barack Obama not eligible to be President, but that he also isn't an American. Forget growing up here, forget starting a family here, forget spending your entire adult life serving Americans in politics, just the very act of not being born here means that you aren't one of us. You're an outsider; you don't belong here.
Obviously the best way to solve this entire issue is to simply remove the Constitutional restriction upon foreign-born people being elected President. However, the Birthers, seeing this as their only way to remove Obama, would certainly oppose this measure with as much passion as they defend impossible theories. Obviously just not being a Natural-Born citizen does not mean you do not wish or are physical or mentally unable to perform this country's highest office to the best of your abilities. That should be obvious. The Natural-Born restriction is an anachronistic relic made for a world far less globalized then the one we live in today. The Constitution needs to be amended* on this issue.
Unfortunately, it is very telling that the very first Black President of this country is also the very first one to suffer mass-doubts over whether he truly is an American. One cannot help but see the very unfortunate tropes of racial fears. "That Obama: he isn't a good White Christian, he's some foreign African." Not only do these people have these thoughts, they purposefully believe impossible things to prove that their thoughts are justified. Somehow I'm certain that the same people who think that Barack Obama is a foreigner are the same ones who are joining Pastor Drake in praying for his death. Insanity attracts insanity.
Future generations are going back at this period and have a good chuckle about how hopelessly moronic so many of us were.
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* Personally I feel that a President of this country should still be a person who has lived most of their lives here. You should be a citizen of this country to be its leader, and you should have lived here for most of your life (twenty years one such length of time proposed). America should be lead by an American, after all. However the Birthers have a very prejudiced idea of what an "American" actually is.
Hah, that made me laugh. As a Canadian citizen, I could care less about Obama, but still I have to agree that these "Birther's" are all idiots. It's not like he was blocked off from Americans and had to spend his whole life with...Kenyan's or w/e.
ReplyDeleteQuite frankly sir, I wonder what we did to deserve such idiocy in the USA. I can relate to this because ALL of my neighbors fall in to that category. Is it too hard to ask for a justified reason to hate this president? Every day I hear a reason to hate him that isn't backed up politically. The latest one I've heard is that he is a double agent from Al Queda... just because of his middle name! Oh, and is it just me, or did you reference the new Kingdom Hearts in the title?
ReplyDelete*sigh* Yep, there is a new a new level of stupidity in this world.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, what do these people hope to accomplish through this, other than proving to the rest of the world that our so called "leader of the free world" still cannot overcome the predjudice of race? American or not american... Have these people forgotten that the entire existance of America, (and here in australia too)is due to people who originally stole the land off the true people of the land. In fact, I think that it would be interesting to see the reactions to the first Native American president.
hmm...
First of all, don't change the thing into two blogs, it's better to keep it as one in my opinion because it shows you're a real educated person in politics but also knows some shit about anime and games. That's great, it removes the stereotype that gamers and anime fans have that they're unintelligent and computer-addicted.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution was built on a society that's nothing like it is today. It's obvious that amendments have been made to remedy that but they take waaaay too long to pass and go through the whole procedure, even to change something tiny. It's this limitation that serves as a gift, but more so a curse because it stops the things that really need to be amended(like the law you brought up) from actually being amended. If there id an easier way to go about amending laws, yet keeping it so radicals don't go ripping up the whole Constitution, I hope someone finds it soon.
One: Only one blog is needed. You've spent so much time talking up what you call Q? and how it might mean anything that making a new blog would make Q? clearly stand for something: Japanese entertainment or American politics. What would you call the other blog? Tales From the Lower Cased Q?
ReplyDeleteTwo: Sadly, many people in the United States are so prejudice that they would used anything as an excuse to make other people agree with their twisted outlook on the world. In 2008 people were calling Obama a terrorist, then people were upset that his father was Muslim (which, if any of them had even bothered to do research they would have learned that this is incorrect: Obama's father was an atheist for most of his adult life (see Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama for more)) so he must be evil (or even the Anti-Christ), and now this whole debate on whether or not he was actually born in the U.S. Of course he was. It would be very difficult to forge a Birth Certificate, Social Security Card, and who knows how many other important documents that would have been checked over before he was even allowed to run for the Presidency.
Three: I whole-heartedly agree with what you said about people not needing to be born in America to be true Americans. There are so many Americans not born in America who would die for the country, and so many who have already. The first few presidents were not born in the United States, but rather British colonies. Technically, they were not born in the United States of America. Though still born on what would later be American land, do these Birthers believe that they shouldn't have been allowed to be president? (I'm not talking about Washington here, there would have to be a non-U.S. born president as the first, but what about the next few)
@Nicholas
ReplyDeleteI don't think your motto is quite complete. Here's the Wizard's First Rule, a general guideline that finishes and helps explain your statement:
"People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool."
I believe this applies to the situation. Also, I liked the KH reference, Blue.
@Almagest:
ReplyDeleteAnd because these idiots are breaking the first Rule they are also breaking the Second, as they actually think proving Obama wasn't born in American will help everyone.
Since I now realize I didn't mention it, keep one blog. If you had like 1000 followers, than just maybe that idea would could be considered, but splitting it up in two will simply kill Tales from the Q. BTW, while on the wiki did you advertise Tales From the Q?? You should seriously have more more followers...kind of strange.
ReplyDeletelike the new layout :)
ReplyDeleteisn't there always a new conspiracy riling up and upsetting those who have a defined way of how the world 'should' be.
Obama is president and he was voted in by people who believed him to be capable to run the country. He gained the support and favour of the people and that is the reason he is president. That's what matters. Isn't it always about the American people the president spends all his time worrying about? It's not like his interests lie elsewhere. Maybe I'm just stating the obvious here...
You're stating what should be obvious, but sadly isn't. Some people just refuse to be happy, and work without rest to make their own lives, and those of all the people around them, worse.
ReplyDelete