When Nobody Knows Nothing
Posted: Sunday, October 26, 2008
by Gregory Lewis
PopGnosis
When nobody really knows anything, that's the most likely time nobodies like me will say a lot of nothing. As the election season draws to a close, it's trite and redundant to point out what we already know, which is that people will say anything to defame, smear, besmirch, belittle and just be unkind to the candidate they unequivocally don't want to see taking up residence in the White House.
People are entitled to write interesting commentary, almost whatever they want. It is incumbent upon a free-thinking citizenry to annotate these opinions with equally provocative, but relevant counter-point.
Blood libel
In Europe, at critical junctures of history, notably between 1840 and 1986 there are 10 well-documented incidents of blood libel, which is an informal whisper campaign where it is asserted that Jews sacrifice young girls or boys and use their blood to make matzoh for the Passover service. There is no factual basis to the libel, which is precisely what makes it a libel. I never knew what a blood libel was until I read a biography of writer Franz Kafka (Kafka's three sisters were lost to the concentration camps in the 1930s). Kafka lived in what was then called Czechoslovakia, one location of an infamous blood libel incident.
The basic idea of propagating a blood libel is to collect a critical mass of people who would like to believe the story, no matter how untrue. It's really a wish fulfillment. To create libel is easy, you simply glom onto a story of suspicious provenance, and by repeating it over and over ad nauseam, either by email, posters or press and verbally among your friends and peers, the rumor takes on a life of its own and mobilizes radical extremists willing to kill for the false idea. It works equally well whether you intend to purge Jews from Europe or arouse antipathy toward the other candidate.
Recently there has been a spate of what if involving Barack H. Obama's U.S. citizenship. It goes something like this: Stanley Ann Dunham, Barack's mother, was a promiscuous, immoral 18-year old who married an irresponsible alcoholic and gave birth to baby Barack in Kenya in August, 1961.
This, that, the other thing
Obama's antagonists like many elements of this story, especially the juicy parts where Ann Dunham was probably only 17 when she conceived, that she was a promiscuous hippy, a do-gooder bleeding hearted liberal, and that Barack's father was black, alcoholic, irresponsible, and possibly abusive. That Ann Dunham's first name was Stanley is especially ripe fodder for the gossip column (note that author Anne Rice was born with the first name Howard). Still, for all the supermarket tabloid color of those details, they are still a lot of nothing, which gets circulated for the same reasons blood libel was circulated. It wasn't intended to make us learn the truth about the character of the individual, but for quite the opposite reason, to get us speculating on what might be. Science fiction! A lot of nothing! He might have done this, he might be this, he might be that.
The FUD factor
Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. FUD. Rule by FUD. Make national policy by FUD. Suspend Habeas Corpus by FUD. A terrorist under every bed FUD. He's a Socialist FUD. He's a palling around FUD. Bug your phone kind of FUD. Keep one party perpetually in office FUD, 'cause if you don't we'll lose all the executive privilege all that FUD worked so hard to create.
Who knows? No one
I found a pretty good web site that tried to dig into the story with a bit more depth, an article titled "View from the Right," but instead of answering the fundamental question, "is Barack H. Obama an American citizen?" it raised a whole bunch of red flags about the question's fundamental validity. The more I read, the more I realized, "this is just a lot of wild-eyed speculation, and nobody seems to actually touch on anything factual."
One thing is for sure, there are a lot of conflicting stories out there. Some claim that if Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, as his birth certificate says, he would not be a natural-born citizen because Hawaii was not yet a state when he was born. Wishful thinking! Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state in 1959 (and guess where John McCain was born? Panama! Last time I checked, the Panama Canal Zone was not the 51st state).
The question arose around the time of the Democrat National Convention, by Philip J Berg, who intended to block Obama's nomination, in favor of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In fact, Berg's petition seems to question only whether Obama is a naturalized citizen, which is a different thing from being a natural-born citizen (born within the United States).
Some outdated complaints demand that Obama should produce his birth certificate. Of course, the Obama campaign made an image of that document available in mid-2008.
Put up or shut up
My intention for writing this isn't to unravel the mystery of Obama's birth, simply because it might forever remain a mystery, and its history is well beyond the scope of this simple opinion piece.
Either put up or shut up. If asked, I could produce a birth certificate showing I was born in Long Beach, California. But, guess what, after my mom and dad die, and as half a century passes into forged memories, I would be hard pressed to prove where I was born. In fact, I think I've already lost my birth certificate for the umpteenth time. Obama's got one-up on me already.
The matter with Obama is so obscure that nobody seems to know where or how these rumors started, kind of like the 2000 Republican New Hampshire Primary when a whisper campaign that nominee John McCain had adopted a black baby was making the grapevine circuit. Can you imagine? What kind of blue-blooded Conservative must he be? And the fact of the ethnicity of the McCain's adopted child is, of course, neither here nor there today. But, it was a deal breaker in 2000, strangely enough.
It's official
This is what a photocopy of Barack Hussein Obama's "Certificate of Live Birth" reads:
STATE OF HONOLULU HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
HAWAII U.S.A.
CHILD'S NAME:
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II
DATE OF BIRTH:
AUUST 4, 1961
HOUR OF BIRTH:
7:24 PM
CITY/TOWN OR LOCATION OF BIRTH:
HONOLULU
ISLAND OF BIRTH:
OAHU
COUNTY OF BIRTH:
HONOLULU
MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME:
STANLEY ANN DUNHAM
FATHER'S NAME:
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
FATHER'S RACE:
AFRICAN
DATE FILED BY REGISTRAR:
AUGUST 8, 1961
If you don't like the fact of this official document, then, know what? Get it changed. That's right, if the facts are on your side, then go to Hawaii, get this certificate revised, then get back to us with the new version of truth. Then maybe you'll have a leg to stand on. Otherwise, you're giving us a wagon load of nothing.
I submit to you, dear reader, that if the campaign for the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama has provided us that much, a legal certificate submissable in a court of law, then they have done anything and everything they are really required to do. It is simply beyond reason that Obama must take extra steps to disprove rumor and gossip mongering. You'd have to be from outer space to think otherwise...well, are you? Hmmm...
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Gregory, Excellent article....which, it turns out, was about something! :) Warmly, BarbaraPlease log in to respond to this comment.Thanks for your appreciation Barbara.
- GPlease log in to respond to this comment.
Well, G, not to rattle any cages but.. ah, um the problem is exactly with this article's title: "When Nobody Knows Nothing" and that is the point: Nobody doesn't know nothing -- If someone is not running for President of the United States, especially in the vulnerable state our country is in, then, who cares, right? I can tell you I'm 5'9" and blonde and you'd never really know... not really because it is not likely that we will meet face to face -- I can tell anyone anything and you know what? If told right, I'd get followers because it is so easy to seduce people with pretty words. Now case in hand, Obama is running for presidency of our vulnerable country and when questions arise they should be investigated by citizens - He as well as McCain took on this burden of being in the public eye themselves when they decided to run for office - Joel Hendon's latest article on this topic was not sway anyone one way or another but was presented for the reader to investigate on their own and so it should be -- There's a wonderful book by Dr. Amaal Tokars, America & Iraq: Seduced By Fear that touches on this very thing that has been happening during this campaign and I recommend that book to everyone who wants to be informed citizens and that's what we should be: informed citizens able to decipher truth from spin.Please log in to respond to this comment.Your point is taken and understood, Judi. If we remain authentic to our sense of right, and allow for dissenting opinion, then we preserve the integrity of our sacred space.
Yours truly,
- GPlease log in to respond to this comment.
Gregory, you've gone and done it again! After reading 2 years of this guy in the brightest spotlight, I find it amusing that so many people still say they don't know who Barack Obama is. I don’t think this is a case of “nobody knows nothing” but rather one of “nobody wants to know”, period. Even when the facts are all there, and there is no evidence to the contrary, some will still say they “don’t know”. Why?The question, "is Barack H. Obama an American citizen?" is just another version of "Who Is Barack Hussein Obama?"’ Both questions are about foreign-ness, about “non-American-ness”. It is simply a way of saying "alien n*****" without actually using the word. We, on the receiving end of this have known the innuendo long before Barack Obama even came to the stage. It’s not that the question is asked (it should be), it’s WHY it’s asked, HOW it’s asked and by WHOM. This is the “test” we REAL foreigners use to understand exactly what the speaker means to say. It’s as simple as that.It’s easy to tell when someone is being genuine and just asking to "know" -- like the old lady at Mccain's rally. And you know when someone thinks their ass is covered up when in reality "the emperor has no clothes!"Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks for your appreciation, Christine. At first I wanted to avoid getting into the fray, but in a moment of weakness I caved to my inner tiger, and had to rise to the occasion.
I've read and heard that words don't mean anything. Yet, they do. I've heard that exactly which of the two candidates we elect doesn't mean anything, yet, nothing could be less true, given the last eight years of de-gress. Truthfully, I voted for Bush the first time around. I thought he was pretty fair on domestic issues, and I still think so. He leap-frogged from the "Education President" to the "War President," and I think he only proved the Peter Principal, "we rise to the level of our incompetence."
If I knew nothing else about Barack Hussein Obama, I do know his position on using diplomacy as a first line of defense with Iran and other international threats is a no-brainer. He's stable, dignified, level-headed, wise. Is he flawed? Oh, my, he's something of an Aries who starts projects with good intentions, and then tends to move on to other projects. Fortunately the President is part of an Administration, and not a one-man act.
I heard Obama speak as a Senator, asking David Petraeus questions at the Senate Hearing on the State of the Military earlier this year, I even recorded it for later analysis. He was one of a few who dared to ask tough questions about the real issues of Iran, what they were thinking, what kind of mood they were in, could they be reasoned with, what was the real relationship between Iran and Iraqi insurgents, and many others. Too often, too many senators sounded like sycophants, praising and gushing over the "progress" in Iraq. "The Surge! The Surge!" just like Tattoo on Fantasy Island.
- GPlease log in to respond to this comment.I hear you, Gregory. Glad you are keeping your objectivity. Now that we are being truthful, despite Bush’s shortcomings I like Bush. I don’t think he got into power with the intention of screwing things up in Iraq -- or the economy. It’s just sad that good intentions are often not enough.I don’t think Barack Obama is without flaw either and I don’t think he thinks he is. I thought Obama was a Leo -- August 4.Please log in to respond to this comment.hehe, yes Christine, he's a Leo. What I meant was that he shows a tendency to initiate projects, but not follow through to the end. This in itself is not a reason not to vote for him, many leaders have this tendency. If he was more like a Taurus, he'd plod along with one or two projects, meanwhile ignoring that the ship has hit an iceberg. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Sorry... the above should read... After 2 years plus of this guy in the brightest spotlight...Please log in to respond to this comment.
G, I don't care who you vote for or support, honestly. I recognize excellent writing and as Barbara said, there is excellence here. I also have two new words to add to my vocabulary, and no, one isn't promiscuous! *chuckle* Learning feels good. And by the way, Obama's birthday is a day and quite a number of years, after my Dad's. Daddy was a man of character who had charisma and substance. I don't know if him being a Leo had anything to do with it but I know serving the Lord did. Keep the articles coming, G. You're an excellent read!Please log in to respond to this comment.I truly appreciate your readership, Avis, but if you don't want to see my fat head explode all over this rent-a-computer, you might want to punish me now and again.
As for Leos, in the words of my long gone Great Grandmother, "Oi!" I've lived with so many Leos I've learned the hard way how to survive. Full of life, sunshine and opinions.
Good word, Avis,
- GPlease log in to respond to this comment.
hi gregory,it's nice to hear a different spin on things, and well written at that.i think it's way overdue for us to have a President who honestly cares about about our people and our country, and not just the prestige and the money!we shall see...thanks for a good article,best regards,sue thomPlease log in to respond to this comment.Sue,
Thanks for reading. Election Day can't come too soon, everybody's getting crazy out there. I'd rather watch the Weather Channel. There was an interesting AP story today about this election having the most unusual rumors, ever. When they start saying McCain is really a Reptoid from Venus or Obama was planted on Oahu by Soviet submarine during the Cold War, I think it'll be time to switch to comic books.Please log in to respond to this comment.
GregoryGreat article and very true. BlessingsPlease log in to respond to this comment.
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