The Power Of Misplaced Faith

I had an epiphany when Obama got elected.

There was this lady what got famous for about fifteen minutes, one Orly Taitz, who was the godmother of the whole Birther movement. She was convined that Obama was not a citizen, could not be president, and that settled it.

A commentator said, "What evidence would it take to convince you that he's a citizen?"

She replied, "There IS no evidence that will convince me."

In short, "My belief cancels your reality."

At that point, I realized that birtherism wasn't just a conspiracy theory. It was in the same ballpark as a RELIGION, supported by faith alone, in defiance of any evidence that might threaten its holy truths.

The analogy is not perfect. Religion DEMANDS faith, because God insists on not being provable. The strength of your faith is the strength of your religion.

Conspiracy theory SAYS it doesn't demand faith, and insists that proof is all AROUND you, on various web sites and fringe publications, and often calls you a fool for not seeing it, or being unwilling to trust in questionable sources.

But ultimately, it's faith based, powered entirely by empty belief. There are still people who believe that Hillary was running a den of child prostitution under a pizza joint in Washington, and that loon with the gun would have blown it wide open if the Democrats hadn't got wind of it, gotten there first, sneaked the kids out disguised as boxes of pepperoni, and then filled in the basement real fast....