It’s Been Settled, or Has It?

The long-awaited NASA report on UFO’s has finally appeared. This was anticipated by millions of sky watchers as the big one. The dispatch that would reveal that we have been visited by beings from other planets. The government would finally come clean on the data that it had complied proving that we are not alone in the universe. Oh boy, oh boy!!!

Unfortunately, the report landed with an audible thud, not creating the monstrous crater envisioned by so many ufomaniacs over the years. Essentially, the “Blue-Ribbon Panel” found that there was no evidence that we have been the recipients of alien curiosity. The panel Chairman concluded there are so few high-quality observations that no scientific conclusions can be drawn. Most events, he said, can be attributed to planes, drones, balloons or weather conditions.

This comes on the heels of NASA appointing a director of UFO research, though the name of that individual is being kept classified because of the threats and harassment this Panel faced during its existence. The threats are not surprising, though they are pathetic. In all likelihood they came from both those advancing the Mulder theory of visitation (“I want to believe”), and the humancentric groups who believe that we are God’s one and only unique creation. Both sides are firmly convinced that anything coming from the government suggesting other than their personally held belief is a coverup of an uncontroverted truth.

This leaves us where we have been throughout my lifetime. There are too many indications of alien life to just dismiss the possibility out of hand, but there is nothing concrete enough to make a definitive statement. Believable eyewitnesses to unexplainable phenomenon, like my friend Gregg Swentor, relate experiences that cannot be readily explained by “planes, drones, balloons or weather conditions”. Yet verifiable evidence, the kind of evidence we, in the scientific age, usually require, is not available, at least to us mere peasants.

I have come to the conclusion that this is not a bad place to be. While the never-ending round of speculation has become stale (don’t expect an X-Files reboot anytime soon), the lack of certainty provides fertile grounds for imagination. We can collectively ponder the implications of contact with life on other planets without being confronted with what might turn out to be a banal reality, and that pondering is more than worthwhile.

I know that there are many out there who have no patience for science fiction, but there are not many arenas like it where we can give full throat to our fears and desires, without naysayers pointing to uncomfortable facts (unless you count politics). We can ruminate on every aspect of alien life. What it looks like. What new technologies it could bring. How we would find a common ground for communication. And no one can say that we are just plain wrong.

More importantly such hypothesizing makes us consider where we would actually fit into a universe where we are not alone. Not surprisingly, we generally still see ourselves in the center of that universe. Regardless of the aliens we encounter we want to be the prime movers and shakers behind the expanded cosmos. Yet, we know it would not be that easy, so we have to consider what it would mean to encounter beings more powerful than ourselves as well.

It is not worth delineating the incredible wealth of speculative literature and films that have pursued these questions. Many people much smarter than me have scrutinized all aspects of extraterrestrial life, and what it might mean for us. Some of it has been thoughtful. Some of it has been silly. But generally, it is engaging.    

Considering the flip side is also worthwhile, even if it does not lead to the flights of fancy a crowded universe does. What are the implications if we are the only sentient beings around? Many would argue that this would validate the geocentric religions we cling to. However, another way of looking at it is that if we are alone, our obligations to this lonely planet are greater than ever. There may be nowhere else to run, and there may be no alien races to pick up the pieces if we destroy what we have here.

Don’t get me wrong. I would like to know if E.T. exists as much as any rabid Mulderite. Uncertainty makes me uncomfortable, as it does most of us. If we are going to deal with ALF or MAC* let’s get on with it and see what happens.

Until that happens, however, we should revel in the speculation, ponder the imponderables and scrutinize the inscrutable. There are so few arenas where imagination can run wild, and they should be embraced. Who needs NASA anyway!!!  

*Most of you have probably never seen what is arguably the worst alien visitation movie ever, Mac and Me. Consider yourself lucky. It is a film that manages to be both a shameless rip-off of E.T. and a drawn-out McDonalds commercial. It is not even fun, the way some bad movies can be (see Plan 9 From Outer Space), unless you watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 “experiment” riffing on this disaster. It is one of their best, and that is saying a lot.