A new poll said 10 percent of Americans believe President Barack Obama is the Antichrist.
Not to be left out, 8 percent believe the same of former President George W. Bush. An equal, but not identical, 11 percent of respondents could not say with certainty that either would not bring about the End of Days.
No wonder journalism is losing money. People don’t believe facts anymore. They’re waiting to hear news that isn’t true.
An alarming 35 percent of Americans either believed Obama was not born in the U.S. or that Bush intentionally allowed the Sept. 11 attacks so he could engage the Middle East.
In the poll, more conservatives believed that Obama was born outside the U.S. than believed the truth.
He has a birth certificate. It’s valid. That should be the end of it.
People should be less upset about ACORN helping prostitutes vote and more upset that the people polled might already do so.
During the 2009 Values Voters Summit on Sept. 19, Michael Schwartz, chief of staff of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., spoke at a panel entitled “The New Masculinity.” In it, he said, “All pornography is homosexual pornography because all pornography turns your sexual drive inwards.”
Not content to call pictures of naked women homosexual, he said if boys know that porn will turn them gay, they wouldn’t look at it — because nobody is more intolerant of homosexuality than 10-year-old boys.
The validity of pre-adolescent boys’ opinions on homosexuality notwithstanding, that’s hilarious.
These views aren’t political beliefs so much as they are delusions. Yet these fallacies are indulged by pundits and endorsed by politicians. If Playboy turns you gay, then does gay porn turn you straight?
In a 1999 Gallup poll about the lunar landings, 6 percent believed the government staged the lunar landing; although the Gallup article said, “It is not unusual to find about that many people in the typical poll agreeing with almost any question that is asked of them.”
Applying that to the question about Obama being the Antichrist, we’ll assume only 5 percent of Americans truly believe Obama is the Antichrist.
That sounds innocuous, but if applied to the U.S. population it amounts to more than 12 million people. It would be a national disaster if 12 million delusional people voted based on who isn’t the Antichrist in an election.
We would not allow 12 million children to vote. We shouldn’t allow 12 million childish adults to do so.
Instead of voting on candidates, or on the Antichrist versus not the Antichrist, we should only vote on a checklist of issues.
If a majority of Americans want a public health care option, one point would go the candidate who supports it. It would eliminate the influence of crazy conspiracies without eliminating the political beliefs of those who buy into them.
The winner would not only be the best person for the country, but they would have a public policy plan drafted by the people. Now that is a delusional idea I can get behind.
Reach Chris at cogino@asu.edu.
