Now that we know President Barack Obama was actually born in America and is not a cyborg sent from the future to destroy our way of life in the present, may the issue that never ends finally end. Like many fellow mainstream conservatives such as Michael Medved, Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly, I found the “birther” movement to be as ridiculous as any other conspiracy theory paraded through the media.

The idea that Obama would somehow be able to register to vote, sign up for the draft, and run numerous successful election campaigns, all the while not having the proper documentation, seems pretty far-fetched. In fact, had this been true, Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s campaign advisers would have been the most inept human beings in Washington, D.C., for not realizing the guy running against their boss should never have been allowed to run in the first place. Or worse, they knew and were in on the scandal. So now that we can move on, I think a bigger issue has to be dealt with. The name calling and dart throwing that has been taking place has no place in a civilized society.

While Tea Party members and the far right cried about the birth certificate, the left cried racism. Recently, rowdy MSNBC host Ed Schultz called the investigation racially inspired, and then proceeded to flat-out call birthers racist.

Salon writer Roger Fallihee wrote on April 27 that “the news isn’t all bad for the birther crowd. The document lists Obama’s father as ‘African,’ proving that Obama is half black. And isn’t that what this birth certificate bull***t has always been about? The ‘Keep the White House White’ movement will now shift their attention to ‘Show Us The Grades.’ The same people that cling to their guns, religion, and their hatred of black men who dare to rise above the position of produce manager at Safeway, will now promote the idea that the President must have been the beneficiary of Affirmative Action programs.”

While I believe the birther movement is political at best, ignorant at worst, it is not racist. If the Republican Party and the Tea Party are really racist, then how do you explain Michael Steele as the past leader of the GOP? How does a man like Herman Cain rise so quickly within the Tea Party ranks? How do men like J.C. Watts and Thomas Sowell become mouthpieces for the conservative cause? The left will never understand that the right dislikes Obama’s ideas, not his skin color.

The truth is that name calling comes from both parties, but the left and the DNC seem more inclined to throw around words like “racist” or “bigot” when describing whole groups of people, whereas conservatives and Republicans tend to focus on individuals they disagree with.

Either way, both parties use fear tactics in hopes of winning support. The left wins converts claiming that, if not elected, the GOP will basically destroy the planet, bring back Jim Crow laws, end health care in this country, and make us a Christian theocracy. Meanwhile, Republicans like to remind people that if they aren’t elected, the DNC will take all their money, turn us into a European state, kill more unborn babies and return us to paganism.

These issues are the boogey men of the other party. These crude paintings of the opposition are what prevent anything from ever getting done. We become too busy trying to find the boogey man in the closet. These boogey men that the other side keeps pulling out are dangerous, destructive and divisive.

The right seems to paint one side as un-American. The left believes the conservative cause is basically evil. You can’t get much done if you think you are working among traitors and racists.

It is time to kill these boogey men. Republicans don’t want to kill Mother Earth. Democrats aren’t communists.

Conservatives aren’t racist. Liberals don’t want to lose the war on terror. Everyone wants people to have access to health care.

If you read that and still think that the other side is evil, then you aren’t part of the problem. You are the problem.