Birthers and 9/11

In THE FAMILY, author Jeff Sharlet discusses the long history of fundamentalism in the United States, focusing in part on "the family," a secret organization in D.C. that preaches the love of power to the elite and provides venues for deals to be brokered. There are many other kinds of fundamentalists, of course, including some who do admirable work with the needy; but what struck me most was this: the megachurch type of fundamentalists constitute a separate culture.

What I mean is that they have their own very different history books, magazines, music, sciences, candidates, belief systems, social lives, movies, novels and so forth. In their written history of America, for example, Thomas Jefferson was a devout Christian who helped found a nation dedicated to Christ and personal salvation. They home-school their children with these texts, then send the children to a fundamentalist college for more of the same.

Fundamentalists have their own separate facts, which is why Barney Franks found that talking to them is like talking to a kitchen table. Where people can't agree on basic facts, no discussion is possible. There is no way to convince a birther that Obama was born in Hawaii. If you produce a document, he will tell you it's forged.

Before we condemn fundamentalists we should admit (if we can) that the Left has a similar problem in our conspiracy theorists, who are still fixated on the assassination of JFK and 9/11. They also have their own facts, their own books, their own films. There is no way to convince them that the Twin Towers were destroyed by aircraft, although we watched it happen. This is a classic case of "are you going to believe my explanation or your own lying eyes?"

One difference I see between the two groups is that the fundamentalists have done harm to themselves and others, while the conspiracy theorists harm no one, although they do divert energy away from pressing problems like health care.

As for the great middle of the United States, with its set of high school facts and history, which might omit women, people of color, class structures and so on, that's a narrative for another day. See Howard Zinn.

Gary Goss