Shadow Of A Doubt

Kudos, I say, to those who immediately responded to the release of Barack Obama's long form birth certificate with cries of doubt and suspicion. These are the values upon which this great nation was founded: "You colonies need to pay the King for that tea."
"I don't think so, King. As a matter of fact, we don't even think that tea will float." And so they tossed it into Boston Harbor. This was shortly before the colonists demanded to see proof of his majesty's birthright. In a world without fax machines or scanners, only those fortunate enough to have access to the royal papers in person and were able to read were able to make an informed decision. For everyone else, the suggestion that the King of England wasn't the boss of them was good enough to start kicking up a fuss, and the rest, as we say, is history.
Or something like that. It was a long time ago, and sometimes facts get mishandled or mistreated along the way and they don't come out looking like they did when they went in. What amazes me today is how quick the turnaround is. Texas Tech football coach and noted political analyst Tommy Tuberville joined real estate mogul and game show host Donald Trump to insist that our president prove that he was born in America. He did that and then faced a new flurry of skepticism from people with credentials every bit as impressive as these two.
The suggestion that there is no pleasing some people is guaranteed in our Constitution. So we expect that a travelling road show that would include both the actual paper document alongside the decaying and slightly fish-nibbled body of Osama bin Laden will be necessary to prevent another revolution. Or maybe the doubt is the thing that drives us. If we started trusting one another, or our leaders, we would soon find ourselves right back where we were in 1776. Right before the spaceship landed and those vaguely humanoid aliens helped us write the Declaration of Independence. Don't believe me? Can you prove it didn't happen?