For some, Barack Hussein Obama is, was, and always will be a Muslim
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A new study from the University of Georgia tries to make sense of the strident belief held by roughly 20% of the U.S. population during the election cycle of 2008 that then candidate Barack Obama practiced the Muslim faith.
Despite numerous television and print reports offering evidence to the contrary, that robust slice of Americans held to their Internet/chain e-mail/corner gossip beliefs that Obama was anything but a Christian.
“With most forms of political knowledge, media should theoretically make you more accurate,” Hollander [Barry, the study's primary author] said. “In this case, media exposure had no effect. Ultimately, the message here is that people believe what they want to believe.”
Such are the times we live in. We’ve become immune to the vaccine of knowledge. There’s no such thing as climate change. Barack Obama wasn’t born in America. There’s no evidence to support the theory of evolution. Health care reform equals fascism. Why are all these things true? Because people believe them, and no amount of elitist fact-checking is going to overturn anything.
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What are the remedies?
a lot of knowledge in a positive and scientific would lead a man resolve the confusion which we face pertaining live together.
In response to another comment. See in context »rockyinlaw,
Well, that’s it in a nutshell. My own theory is that our technology has now enabled little pockets of misinformation to fester and breed. Perhaps this phenomenon won’t be as prevalent in ten years, after people have gotten used to questioning what they read in an e-mail or on some crazy Internet site. Otherwise, it seems like we’re heading for a kind of segregation of civilization. That’s one reason I wanted to move back to California from Norther Florida, not that it solves much other than on a personal scale.
Any suggestions?
I share your theory and suspect we are headed toward a kind intellectual self-segregation of society. This 20 percent does not read or listen to news or views that do anything but reinforce their ideas and ideals. Sort of scary. Means one/fifth of the people in this country are certifiable in their views, if not their behavior. I agree with what you said to Rocky, too. These people aren’t dumb. They are engaged — just in a very narrow spectrum of the informational spectrum.
In response to another comment. See in context »Not a clue. I wonder though what might correlate with that 20% you mention: How many high school dropouts there are? Who is living in close proximity to a power line? People who drink sweetened carbonated drinks? Seriously, though, what do you mean by “segregation of civilization”? Those who question vs those who don’t?
Rockyinlaw,
Exactly. In some ways, you see this with the Tea Party Movement, not that all of them are as staunch as the people described above, but seriously, when state and local governments are in such dire financial straits, the solution is to abolish tax revenues?
I don’t think it’s a case of power lines, or high school drop out rates, which haven’t changed all that much in the past few decades. My money is on the way information can travel in insular little bubbles now.
“insular bubble,” out of context? Hmmm. I think “little” is important too. Long articles = avoidance behaviors. Anything other than a 250 character message is rude … answers quickly googled or the search abandoned … I’m hoping we are only seeing a pendulum swing to one side (everyone overindulging in all this great new technology) and will probably swing all the way to the other side (luddites suddenly lead us back to basics) … before it eventually balances out to something reasonable and helpful. But what do i know.
Still would be interesting to see what else the 20% does with their decision making …
“The greater the dogma, the greater the ignorance”
I wish I could remember who this quote was by.
It explains a lot in my mind.
I think technology has enabled people to sift out any information that might not fit their world view.
Hi mc396
“I wish I could remember who this quote was by.”
Sir William Osler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Osler a Canadian doc widely credited as being the father of modern medicine. He made John Hopkins what it is today.
Back to Muslim/non Muslim.
As a Canadian. I’m much more concerned with America’s obsession with religion. Religion shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the White House.
In the recent book “God’s Brain” by Canadian anthropologist Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire, who point out that religion is little more than an addiction to serotonin.
So let’s get the drug addicts out of the White House eh
See this article:
Macleans interview: Lionel Tiger
“Anthropologist Lionel Tiger on faith and sexual behaviour, why religion comforts us, and how churches act as ‘serotonin factories’”
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/03/04/macleans-interview-lionel-tiger/
Get over your obsession with religion and learn to be happy being “One Nation Under Canada”
In response to another comment. See in context »LOL! One nation under Canada — good one.
In response to another comment. See in context »I’m not sure whether its ignorance or arrogance!
In response to another comment. See in context »Perhaps a bit of both
In response to another comment. See in context »Never trust a clown who hides his birth certificate and college grades
You don’t get it. They think he is a SECRET muslim. Therefore no amount of “proof” can ever persuade them otherwise.
You’re right of course Ethan.
How do you prove a negative?
In response to another comment. See in context »If God created the heavens and the earth, then who was it that created religion? Is it possible to believe in a God aka “the creator” and not believe in religion? As Homer Simpson once said about beer also pertains to religion; “The answer to and cause of most of the worlds problems”.
Ethan,
Ah, right. Just as the secrecy of the “global warming conspiracy” invalidates any future findings. Check and mate.
Perhaps folks would be more inclined to trust the elite media if the journalists and editors did a better job at presenting information objectively. Too often I see opinions presented as “facts” and the language used is frequently Orwellian.
FWIW, I do believe that Pres. Obama was born in Hawaii and that he is at least nominally a Christian.
“Perhaps folks would be more inclined to trust the elite media if the journalists and editors did a better job at presenting information objectively. Too often I see opinions presented as “facts” and the language used is frequently Orwellian.”
Well said crimsonwife!
In response to another comment. See in context »The bush/cheney/rove machine did it’s job…we are not/we are in a crusade against Muslims, except for the oil Saudis who we love to hold hands with despite the Wahhabi thing in Afghanistan that they finance and now a black, not Asian, American is trying to make our women wear burkas while arresting and killing more terrorists al quida’s than Bush.
It all makes sense right?
Can anyone find america on a map?
Convention practice oriented to a holy Place as a church or mosque does not mean necessary to be an orthodox, and impose his ideology forcefully. All possess the right living equally performing their duties for development of the society and raise living standards of individuals. His excellency Mr. Obama, the president of united states of America is moderate and liberal. Its enough for the secular society, as western.
In our society people are hungry, they can`t afford education expenses. I belong to a poor family and in the difficult circomestances I did graduation in metallurgical engineering and joined an integrated steel plant, but very bad i was forced to resign premature having nine years service. Reason behind it was that during my service I fell ill and faced two major Open Heart Surgery and fitted two artificial valves in my heart. In such condition I lost eyesight of my right eye. I am looking for reinstatement on my job. I survive by getting charity, thats insufficient. I have three children and a wife. In starvation all are alien for me. What to do? All the roads seem going to grave. Very strange story!