What Will It Take?

Someone mentioned it in Sunday School class yesterday. I couldn’t believe my ears. After all this time, there are still some (otherwise intelligent) adult people who believe President Obama is not an American-born citizen.

The comment (completely out of the context of my lesson, by the way) was in reference to his birth certificate.

Haven’t we cleared that up already?

Look! Here it is, okay?

But wait. That’s not good enough, the critics say. It's a phony, they say.

Yet officials in Hawaii have repeatedly assured us it is the real thing, as official as it gets.

But bloggers and others on the lunatic fringe argue it’s only the “short form”. They want to see the “long form”.

Oh, no! Who are we to believe? Elected officials entrusted with public records, or internet bloggers?

And besides, what difference would that make – long form or short form?

Last week Karen and I finally got around to applying for a passport. We had to show our birth certificates. Hers was a “short form” from California. Believe it or not, it was accepted as proof that she was born in California and is, therefore, an American citizen.

BTW, what a relief!

But I’m guessing the President has a passport?

Come to think of it, when I got a driver’s license at 17, I had to show a birth certificate.

I’m guessing the President has a driver’s license?

SO WHY ARE WE STILL ARGUING ABOUT THIS???

Wait, here’s more proof: this is a photocopy of a clipping from a newspaper in Hawaii announcing his birth.

What? Still not proof enough?

Okay, sure, anyone with a time machine could have gone back to 1961 and placed a phony birth announcement in the newspaper. And I wouldn’t put it past Osama bin Laden to try something sneaky like that!

Again, who are we to believe?

Last week I engaged in a discussion on another person’s blog.

No, I don't allow comments at "Banana Winds".

Can't you read? At Banana Winds "It's all about me!"

Anyway, the topic of the post is not important here, only the tactics. The blogger expressed his opinions on a particularly volatile subject. Readers attacked. Every piece of evidence proposed by both sides was countered by the charge that it was not from a valid source (i.e. the internet).

“The internet is full of crack-pots.” “Wikipedia is a joke.” “Television and print news stories are biased.” “Photos and videos can be doctored.” “Quotes can be taken out of context.”

To make matters worse, a church member (okay, the same church member) today forwarded me an email with a supposed excerpt from a recent book by Lee Iacocca. The emailed excerpt railed against President Obama and his administration.

Sadly, my church member did not realize that the Iacocca book was published in 2007, before Barack Obama was elected president. The truth is, in his book Lee Iacocca was giving a tongue-lashing to the Bush administration!

Unfortunately, unauthorized revisions were intentionally made to make it appear that Lee Iacocca hated the current president and his policies.

Yes, there are even some people who are intentionally and maliciously making this stuff up!

So now we can’t even trust forwarded SPAM emails???

So who or what is a valid source? As I lamented to the bloggers, “Walter Cronkite is dead; who can we believe now?”

Friends, we are at a dangerous juncture in American history. The country is deeply polarized and there seems to be no common ground. Everything from inuendos to some pretty serious accusations are casually tossed about, and little respect is afforded anyone with whom we disagree.

And Jesus reminds us, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Before we can come together again as a nation, we first must agree on some ground rules, foremost among them the importance of telling the truth. That means no more “spinning the truth”, and definitely no more outright lying to support your cause. Let’s just agree to speak the truth, no matter how difficult or painful that may be for us.

Let's try this... say it with me: Yes, Barack Obama is an American citizen. Yes, he won the 2008 election fair and square. And yes, according to our Constitution, that makes him PRESIDENT Obama… OUR president.

You may not like him or his policies, but let’s stop all the lying and intentional undermining of this administration. In the end, it only hurts us… or should I say, “U.S.”?

So here are my recommendations for a more positive and productive national dialogue. I believe it works well for every challenge that faces us:

     1) Agree to the rule above – no more lying.
     2) Tune “Pandora” on your IPhone to the “Contemporary Hawaiian” station.
     3) Pour yourself a nice cold margarita.
     4) Repeat step #3 as necessary to bring on that essential spirit of Aloha.

Hey, I'm feelin' it already!