When I first heard rumors that Obama wasn't a legitimate United States citizen during the campaign, I tossed it aside as pointless garbage drummed up by lame people desperate to tear him down.
Six months into the presidency of the first ever African American to hold the title, the rumors have seemingly gained a second wind. A woman at a GOP town hall accused both Obama of hiding his birth certificate and the government of ignoring it. A congressional bill that requires presidential candidates to show their birth certificates has been co-sponsored by GOP House and Senate members. Various commentators, ranging from Lou Dobbs to Rush Limbaugh have discussed the topic, either denouncing the rumors or fueling them.
The "birthers", as they are apparently called, refuse to look at the cold hard evidence; Obama's birth certificate confirms that he is a United States citizen. They refuse to acknowledge that numerous legitimate (there's that word again) news services have confirmed the certificate's authenticity. They even ignore a news clipping from a Hawaiian newspaper published in 1961 announcing his birth (his name is not listed, just his parents).
No, instead they circulate a ludicrous rumor that Obama was actually born in Kenya and that there is a massive conspiracy to hide it. Forget the fact that, if this was true, the validity of this country's entire government would be shattered, since a conspiracy of this nature would require cooperation from virtually every single governmental agency in the country. They would rather believe that Obama was not born in this country, despite numerous evidence to the contrary. Why?
These "birthers" and their supporters should be ashamed and embarrassed by their blatant idiocy and disrespect of the president. It is one thing to disagree with the president, but it is a whole different situation to attack a man's integrity with baseless accusations. These charges against Obama by these people are not only stupid, they frankly reek of racism.
I am not someone who throws the idea of racism around carelessly. As a young African-American man living in New York City, I have encountered many racial situations, and I take pride in my ability to identify racism when it is truly present. This is one of those times. This is the first time that I have heard accusations about a president's citizenship. John McCain, who wasn't born in any of the 50 states but in the Panama Canal Zone, wasn't subjected to such ridiculous speculation. He, nor any of the 43 presidents before Obama, received demands to reveal their birth certificate. Why is it that Obama is being accused? Is it because his father was African, and therefore couldn't possibly be a US citizen himself? Maybe it's the similarly baseless accusations that he is a Muslim that inspire the ire of these people.
There could be another reason, but it is most likely rooted in racist intentions. I am beginning to believe that these people, under the guise of fairness, are so terrified at the idea of a non-white Christian person as president that they will concoct absolute garbage. These people have already proven their racism by implying that Muslims were bad as they accused Obama of being one. If that wasn't bad enough, now they are implying that people with direct ties to Africa can't legitimately hold high government office.
It's time to stop this. These birthers need to get over this bullshit they are on, because it is embarrassing to everyone. Accept the fact that Barack Obama, not John McCain or even Hilary Clinton, is the president. If you seriously can't, then at least stop hiding behind moralistic shields and admit that you are scared of an African-American president, or that you don't think that an African-American president can do as good a job as a Caucasian president can. Either way, you would ultimately admit that you are a racist. It doesn't make you a good person at all, but at least it's honest, something that you hypocritically demand from the president.
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