On Monday, July 27, Hawaii state officials produced – again – confirmation that our current president, Barack Hussein Obama II, was born in, and therefore is a natural-born citizen of, these United States of America.

During the course of the 2008 election, and now, during the 44th president’s time in office, the Obama birth conspiracy has not — and still will not — die down. In 2008, it resulted in two civil lawsuits, Berg v. Obama and Hollister v. Soetoro.

Both were almost immediately dismissed, and for good reason: It is a ludicrous claim, and one that needs to stop.

This is not about criticism of President Obama, legitimacy is a prerequisite for that.

No, this is about a grudge match that escalated to new heights back in 2000, but began far before even that.

A great deal of political mudslinging and a new “culture war” have taken root, signaled by a dramatic rise in television punditry, blog commentaries, T-shirts and bumper stickers.

To some extent, we understand that. We understand the bitter feelings left by a long and hard-fought battle for a prestigious office.

But the continuation of this birth certificate conspiracy theory and the continued “legitimacy” given to such claims is unwarranted. Just as we must do with social policy regarding race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc., we cannot allow our personal emotions to interfere with what logically must be done to create a better and more efficient country for all Americans.

Win or lose, John McCain was gracious and defined patriotism in his November concession speech. Perhaps most poignantly, the senator from Arizona said this about his new president:

“It is natural. It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.”