How to End the UFO Debate, and Contact Extraterrestrials--Now

>How to End the UFO Debate Now

For decades the scientists at NASA, the SETI Institute, and around the world have been searching for extraterrestrial life in our solar system and beyond. And for decades UFO researchers have claimed that ETs have already found us, and that the U.S. Government, and governments of other major nations have known this since the 1940's.

The U.S.G. of course denies this, and nearly all scientists--especially those involved in the search for ETs--are skeptical and often scornful of the UFO researchers and their claims; and in recent years neither the U.S. Congress, mainstream news media, or the scientific community have seriously examined the overwhelming evidence supporting the UFO researchers' claims.

And so the debate continues--not 'face to face' as on the Larry King shows years ago--but in occasional MSM articles, blog posts, and comments.

While 'Ufology', by some accounts, is fading away into oblivion, 'scientific aliens'--with all the exoplanets and the SETI 'Breakthrough Initiative', etc.--are in the news every day--more than ever in the history of UFO research, with articles claiming or questioning the claim that 'we will find ET in ten years', 'twenty years', or 'never', or the ETs are AI, etc. And in brilliantly speculative articles the scientists, et al., explain what to expect when we do 'find ET'.

Every article, and every statement by these naive (?) but well intended 'alien hunters' presents an opportunity for the UFO Disclosure and Contact advocates to challenge the 'Great Taboo', and the mass denial and delusion of our civilization [Wendt and Duvall: Sovereignty and the UFO]--an opportunity to call their bluff.

The purpose of this article is to explain to the UFO community--as well as the UFO skeptics--that the UFO debate charade can be ended anytime by asking the skeptics--and then NASA (or another nation's space agency)--the following question:

"Would you welcome a demonstration of presence, and willingness to communicate: a very brief, but undeniable daylight appearance in front of multiple witnesses with cameras by ETs who are here observing our civilization?"

Specify the place, time of day, a range of dates, and specifics such as 'less than ten seconds' for the requested appearance. For example, an appearance over Cape Canaveral (with lots of visitors and their cameras), at noon, sometime in the next month or two.

If NASA says 'Yes', then the ETs will end the UFO debate with their appearance over the specified place--or conspicuously (if not 'undeniably') elsewhere.

What?! That's ridiculous and impossible--right?

It might seem 'ridiculous', but no scientist would say it's impossible. You don't have to 'believe' in UFOs to understand it's a plausible and easily testable explanation for the 'Fermi Paradox'.

It's a simple experiment that costs nothing and can be done right now. All the scientists and NASA have to do is say 'Yes'. So can NASA and the scientists can say 'Yes'?

The answers from the skeptics/scientists--and, critically, NASA--would be an enormously important statement of principle by our civilization. Do we really *want* to know if we're alone in the Universe?

Perhaps a few courageous folks would say "Let's try it", but most scientists and other skeptics, and even some 'Ufologists', in an effort to avoid answering the question, would offer short--or long and 'carefully reasoned'--responses explaining why it can't possibly work, in order to avoid saying 'Yes' or 'No'.

Wouldn't it be easier to just say 'Yes' or 'No'?

Surely the scientists and UFO skeptics can imagine the reaction from other scientists, governments, and news media around the world if they were to openly advocate initiating the second phase of Contact now. Not to mention the consequences of allowing the people of our world to learn the story of Life in the Universe...and what that story implies for the future of humankind.

A few scientists, et al., might openly say that Contact with an advanced spacefaring race would be devastating to our civilization, and that humans should not even be allowed to know that ETs are here--much less be permitted to talk to them--and that instead of searching for the truth, we should be hiding from it.

And that is exactly the policy of the U.S. Government, and the governments of the handful of nations on this planet whose leaders know the truth of the ET presence.

Here's the best recent lie about UFOs by the U.S.G. (at the behest of 'MAJIC' [whatever the U.S.G. UFO dis/information control group is called]):
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/formally-acknowledge-extraterrestrial-presence-engaging-human-race-disclosure

Would NASA say 'Yes', and risk the possibility--or rather, as some know, the certainty--that humankind would learn the truth of the ET presence? U.S.G. policy has been (since before NASA was created) and still is to deny the presence of UFOs and ETs. NASA is part of the 'National Security State' of the U.S., and will not be permitted to sanction an experiment that will show that ETs are here, and have been here for a very long time. Unless, of course (in light of recent events) MAJIC has reassessed the situation, and has concluded that the time has come.

But NASA also can't say 'No', because then it will be obvious to everyone that if ETs are here--and they are--NASA sure doesn't want the human race to know.

If forced to answer the question, NASA will have to respond with a clever evasion to avoid saying 'No'. NASA and others claim to be searching other Life in the Universe--and they are--kind of, sort of--as they spend billions of dollars, whilst willfully or mindlessly denying the reality of the ET presence. Anyone can search for ETs in their refrigerator, under the bed, or in the skies, etc., but 'searching for ETs' does not mean you really want to find them--if you know they're already here.

Of course NASA could say we've already transmitted messages to the stars, and nobody responded. But why would any intelligent beings have responded? The ETs know that major governments are lying to their people, and that none of the messages were intended for them--the ETs who are already here. And so, in limited deference to our primitive systems of 'governance', the ETs have refrained from responding.

Or NASA could say "Diplomatic discussions are necessarily secret, and so any discussions with ETs must be secret." Translation: The people of our world do not have a 'need to know' of the ET presence; and much less have they any need to know of any discussions the most secretive elements of the U.S.G., et al., might have with them.

It's a stupid mistake (for MAJIC, et al.) to assume ETs willing to respond to a request to begin Contact will accord unlimited respect for, or deference to, the attitudes of the national security apparati of the major governments of our world. The history of their actions makes this absolutely clear. The 'secret diplomacy' argument is only useful if NASA (MAJIC) is desperately trying to avoid saying 'Yes' or 'No'.

A prominent SETI/METI scientist was recently quoted as saying: “It may be that signaling of our intention to make contact is what’s really required to trigger a response...” And, "...the most critical reason to add Active SETI [sending messages] to our search strategy is that this may be the strategy that lets us make contact...". No kidding. You don't need a million or a hundred million dollars. You--and NASA--just have to say 'Yes'.

An astrobiologist was recently quoted as saying (*NOT* with respect to UFOs) that "...NASA has been shameful in not searching for extraterrestrial life and at the same time claiming that’s one of the motivations for their programmes...". What an extraordinary understatement...

Most people will understand that if NASA can't say 'Yes', then they've said 'No'.

If forced to answer the question, NASA's response will end the 'UFO debate' delusion.

Ufologists: UFOs are real. ETs are visiting our world.
NASA/skeptics: There's no evidence. Show us the proof.
Ufologists: Do you want proof--right now?
NASA/skeptics: No, we don't want proof, because there are no ETs visiting our world! And NO--we don't want to talk to them, because they're not here, because we said so.

>The ETs

In a zoo hypothesis ('Prime Directive') variant, the ETs have been here for many decades (millenia?), and have made their presence known (rather bluntly in some cases) to the governments of major nations--especially to the U.S. and the Soviet Union (Russia), and in particular with respect to nuclear weapons--and to millions of people around the world. They have a better understanding of our civilization than we do, and they know of the experiences of many other civilizations. They've monitored our world on a daily basis for decades, and are willing to begin the next phase of Contact as soon as one or more sovereign entities (nations) take responsibility for beginning the process. They are quite capable of communicating in images and in our languages the story of life of the Universe. The first phase of Contact began decades ago when our civilization reached a particular technological level.

They haven't forced 'acknowledgement' of their presence--e.g., with a dramatic daylight appearance over major cities--because (except for a 'Final Warning', e.g., as in the original TDTESS), willfully forcing acknowledgement of an ET presence on a primitive civilization is a hostile and destructive act, and contrary to their metaphysical understandings ('beliefs').

Honoring this policy required many thousands of difficult and uncertain judgements as to when and how they might appear, based on their assessment of our 'collective consciousness', and the intentions and capability of the major institutions of our world--the governments, scientists, the news media--to perpetuate the ignorance of the human race; and of course, their assessment of the ability of humans to deny the blindingly obvious. Were there some mistakes--'well intended', or not--intelligence and assessment failures, etc., or perhaps by a few with a different agenda? Perhaps...

In the era of universal cell phone cameras, significant appearances before groups of humans are no longer possible or permitted, since such appearances would force acknowledgement.

The ETs have honored their faith, and done their job by 'knocking on our door' tens of thousands of times.

>The UFO Researchers

And the UFO researchers have done their job, by collecting and publishing a wealth of information on the UFO/ET presence. Much (most?) of the information on UFOs is nonsense, in large part because of the denials and brilliant disinformation operations of U.S.G. elements, abetted by the scientists and news media (with very few exceptions), and the consequences of what one Disclosure advocate has called the 'intellectual ghettoization of the phenomenon'. Only those willing to take the time to study the research, and learn to assess the reliability of various claims can understand much about ET presence. (Except, of course, for those who've had an experience, and 'know what they saw'.)

While opinions differ as to the underlying nature of UFO phenomenon, no competent rational person who has studied the evidence is a skeptic. And if any honest 'skeptic' believes they are familiar with the evidence, then try answering the question with a 'Yes' or 'No'.

Some UFO researchers would say that the UFO reality is a lot more complicated than just ETs in UFOs--there are 'mental effects', 'other realities', and 'high strangeness', etc. Good point, but so what? In a Universe full of 'strange' beings and realities, there are some who understand us, and can communicate what they know in images and our languages.

>Ignoring the mistakes of the past

These ETs have knocked on our front door many thousands of times, and we've chosen to ignore them. Do they have something important--maybe really, really important--to tell us? Can even *one* single well-known scientist on this planet openly say "Yes, let's find out if they're here and willing to talk to us..."?

Not even MAJIC knows the history of civilizations like ours. Do most manage to survive the era of nuclear weapons, the utter dependence for their survival on vulnerable technologies [e.g., internet/grid vs. solar/nuclear pulse, and cyberattack], the increasingly rapid destruction of their living planet, etc., etc., and then manage to survive the 'AI Singularity'? Some? Almost none? Or maybe absolutely none?

Could it be that the only ones who survive are those who are curious and courageous enough to try to learn from the experiences of other civilizations? MAJIC's view--quite 'reasonably' in one sense--is that if the cost of getting the intel is sharing it with the world, then any potential benefits are not worth the consequences of permitting our civilization to learn the story of Life in the Universe.

MAJIC knows that Contact will be the "end of life as we've known it" since the beginning of human history, because it will be the end of the philosophical (metaphysical?) concept of 'materialism'. But MAJIC also knows that even if our civilization (in the U.S., et al.) survives for the next one or two decades, that AI will likewise be the "end of life as we've known it"... And they understand that failing to learn from 'the mistakes of the past (civilizations)' could be the 'Final Intelligence Failure' for the U.S. and our civilization...

Or do they?

For U.S.G./MAJIC, and the scientists and all the others who wonder and speak and say they care about the possible futures of our civilization: Should we bet the future of our civilization on the notion that "Ignorance is Strength"? Should we ignore any possibility, however slight you might believe it to be, of learning from the experiences of other civilizations?

That is exactly the wager, by omission or commission, that humankind is making right now. Only the ETs, with their knowledge of the experiences of other civilizations know whether 'Contact' or 'Willful Ignorance' is likely to be the 'best hope' for the future of humankind. And so perhaps we might preface the question/message above with "If you assess, based on your knowledge of the experiences with other civilizations, etc., that we will in hindsight come to understand that the 'best hope' for the survival and future well being of our civilization was Contact now, then please let us know..."

>Some folks to ask about this...

While the Larry King UFO shows from years ago would be the ideal forum (one last show LK?), the general idea could be used by any curious reporter, or in any encounter between 'UFO Disclosure' advocates and skeptics and/or the media. Or by any large 'UFO research' group, e.g., MUFON. Or by the Paradigm Research Group...

Or any UFO conference: invite the ETs to make a carefully specified appearance, and then invite NASA to sanction it. NASA of course, would be displeased.

Or by UFODATA: you don't need a vast array of 'detectors'. You only need one, and a sanction from NASA. Issue your own invitation, and ask NASA if they would welcome a response.

Or try asking Douglas Vakoch and the folks at METI.org. You say you want to know if we're 'alone in the Universe', and you want to send messages to ETs. If you, NASA, and the scientists of our world *really* want to know, and to send messages to ETs, then why not try the experiment?

Or ask the Breakthrough Initiatives folks: "The Breakthrough Initiatives are a program of scientific and technological exploration, probing the big questions of Life in the Universe: Are we alone? Are there habitable worlds in our galactic neighborhood? Can we make the great leap to the stars? And can we think and act *together* – as one world in the cosmos?" If you won't try this experiment, then you've got to be kidding.

Or ask the world's most famous SETI scientist and the world's most famous UFO skeptic: Seth Shostak. In the past he's said he would like to know if UFOs are real, and ETs are here. This is the perfect experiment for the SETI Institute... You could specify Hat Creek, at noon, as the time and place. After NASA welcomes an appearance, all you have to do is look out the window at noon every day for the next couple months, and when a flying saucer or triangle shows up over the Allen Telescope Array, take a picture [or perhaps a video to record an optical Morse Code message] with your cellphone and post it to the SETI website, then go back to work. Maybe you'll win a Nobel Prize. SETI has inspired millions of people around the world for decades--but if you won't try the experiment, Mr. Shostak, could you at least try to be a little less dismissive of UFO research?

Or, better yet, try asking the Science, Space, and Technology Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. The scientists who have testified before your Committee about the possibility of finding other Life in the Universe obviously want money for their projects--billions of dollars to do fascinating and inspiring science, and 'searching for ETs', etc. They didn't lie to your Committee; but they sure didn't tell you the truth...whatever their reason(s). Why not invite them, including a NASA representative, back for another open hearing, and ask them the question?

Or ask The Centre for Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge. "Can we prevent the end of the World?" Good question--but why aren't we trying to try talk to some folks who can tell us about the likely answer?

Or ask the Future of Life Institute. Quite apart from all the other risks, how much do the signers of the AI petition know about the history of AI in the Universe? Do civilizations like ours *ever* survive the creation of 'superintelligent' AI--coming sooner than most folks seem to understand?

Or ask Stephen Hawking, the world's most famous scientist.

Or ask Barack Obama...or Donald Trump. Or Hillary Clinton :) Etc.

>And Finally

For the 'catastrophic and existential risks' folks, and all those who say they care about the future of our world: Humankind is not the first civilization to consider this question. It will not be the last. How many other civilizations have made the choice you're making? What became of them? Do you want to bet the future of human race on your faith in ignorance? By omission or commission, 'for better and for worse', and whether you know it or not, this is exactly the wager you are making--and we are making--right now.

Don't believe it? Then try the experiment...