“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie . . .” —2 Thessalonians 2:11

American public life thrives on delusions treated as facts:

*That you can have a First World economy and military with a Third World population.

*That the U.S. government, which has almost unlimited access to resources, needs to borrow money and pay tax-free interest to those who lend to it at no risk.

*That social dysfunction in Newark, Detroit, and Cleveland is caused by the plantation slavery that ended almost a century and a half ago.

*That race conflict is worse in the South than in the North.

*That it is righteous for Northerners to inflict conditions upon Southerners that Northerners would not tolerate for themselves.

*That a rich government and a prosperous people are the same thing (rather than eternal opposites)

*That the election of a black man or a white woman as President will be a great step forward in history.

*That it matters which Establishment mouthpiece is President.

*That the federal government can guarantee a safe and abundant food supply.

*That it matters whether paid athletes take steroids or not.

*That Oprah Winfrey knows what we should read.

*That it matters whether Angelina and Brad are together or not.

*That Oscar awards are based on quality and merit.

*That Harvard professors and graduates are learned and wise people.

*That punitive laws are a cure for drug-taking, even though it never worked with alcohol.

*That the Republican party is (or ever has been) a “conservative” party.

*That the Democratic party still represents us common people.

*That people must always obey the Supreme Court without any recourse.

*That America is in constant danger from rightwing extremists and sometimes from Muslim terrorists, but there is no such thing as a violent leftwing extremist. Especially dangerous are gun-toting Southerners like Timothy McVeigh and the Unabomber. (It has to be true, I saw it on television.)

*That the federal government protects the innocent and keeps us safe. (This powerful delusion persists even after Waco and 9/11.)

*That multiculturalism and “diversity” promote tolerance, when obviously they represent envy, hostility, and the desire to dominate.

However, let’s end on an upbeat note. Hussein Obama is bursting one common Delusion. OId pols like the Clintons and McCains have thought that pushing affirmative action was a benefit to them. It was only supposed to give away other people’s opportunities—it was not supposed to work against them. Listen to ‘em holler.