Paranoia on the right. Thank Bush and Cheney.

[Are_grits_groceries]

The RW has come up with so many astounding rumors about President Obama that I can't keep up. The birther idea was actually one of the saner ones relatively speaking.

Their paranoia has been fueled by nutters, and unfortunately people like Grassley who know better. It is compounded by a virulent strain of racism. "He isn't one of us." Who is "us?" Are we "us?" "Us" is some nebulous, noxious group of people who don't know whether to shit, run, or go blind.

The amazing thing to me is that they refuse to believe clear evidence that shows them that their ideas are wrong.

I believe they suffer from the Bush-Cheney Syndrome. BusChen did what they wanted. The Constitution and the rule of law didn't matter to them. They did as they damn well pleased. People tried to warn others about what was happening only to be shouted down and called unpatriotic. They were dismissed as conspiracy theorists and worse.

However, now there is clear evidence that BusChen lied about a lot of things. WMD were just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of the loons can see this whether they admit it or not. Somewhere in the vast wasteland where their pea sized brains reside, they know they were sold a bill of goods by their heroes - BusChen. They may rationalize it or try to dismiss the lies, but they know.

This is one reason President Obama scares them. If their idols lie to them, then what must Obama be up to. Gawd could tell them what he was doing, and they wouldn't believe it.

The government has never been pristine. Lying is not an anomaly. On the whole, though, people could deal with it until BusChen came along. Their deceit was of such epic proportions that they weakened the bonds of trust. People have to have a decent level of trust in order to believe that their participation in this country's processes will matter.

Glen Beck says it was a coup and not an election. Laughable conspiracy to us. Probable truth to them.

This is what was so damaging about the last 8 years. As BusChen took away pillar after pillar of the ideals and laws that the USA was founded on, they replaced them with a house of cards. Well it came tumbling down with a roar.

I have always been a skeptical person when it comes to the government. However, until the last 8 years, I felt that the country would muddle through and get it right eventually when it came to our problems. There were people to lead us through.

I don't know how we rebuild what was lost. The only thing I can think of is that we will have to hold up our country ourselves until a sturdy base is once again in place for it to rest on. The pieces are still there in the form of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other invaluable items that made our country so unique and promising.

Lord will this be a task. I doubt if I will be alive to see this process end. We have to try because the other option is to let this entire nation fall apart.

We have to begin to trust one another again and carry this forward. Fear will stop this process. Faith in what we know this country can be and once was will be the light that we will have to follow.

It is no use to look for great people to do these deeds for us. Together we will have to rise to the occasion and become great.

The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
Alexis de Tocqueville