For as long as humans have looked up at the night sky, we have wondered if we are alone in the universe. And this is a perfectly understandable line of thinking. The universe is massive. More massive than most people can ever comprehend. The more we have learned, the bigger it has gotten, as we have used Galileo’s wonderous invention, the telescope, to explore this vast expanse. And we have uncovered only a tiny portion of it. Could there be other races out there, on distant planets? Even the most hardened skeptic acknowledges this is possible, given the sheer size of the universe. But the debate over alien life goes further than just admitting there might be something out there. Many people are adamant that not only do aliens exist, but that they have actually visited our planet. Stories of sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and people being abducted by aliens and experimented upon are widespread. But when did this all start? When do people claim aliens first visited Earth? The truth is, this notion of aliens visiting Earth started in the late 1980s. Many are surprised by this fact, believing that this phenomenon has been around since the 1940s. The reason this decade is said to be the first incidence of aliens visiting Earth is because of a story which was first told by one man. One man who claimed he had worked for the United States Government at the site called Area 51. He alleged that this site was the location of a crash-landed alien space craft in the 1940s. He further stated that since this crash, the United States Government has taken great pains to conceal this fact from the people. And he first told this story in 1989. Following this, several others came forward to make similar allegations. Investigation revealed that none of these people had ever worked at Area 51, hence their claims should have been instantly discredited. But they weren’t, thanks to two factors. The first being the notion of conspiracy theories being self-fulfilling, that is, the more one is able to prove a conspiracy or cover-up doesn’t exist, the more proponents insist that the lack of evidence is just further proof that a conspiracy must exist. And round and round we go. The second is the awesome power of media and popular culture, including works of fiction.
The legendary Doctor Who (yes I am a fan) has been captivating television audiences since 1963 and assuring us that almost anything is possible, including beings from other worlds. What is lacking here though, is the idea of governments trying to lie to people to “protect” them from the truth. Several other television series, such as The Twilight Zone continued in this vein, however took more of a horror / thriller approach to shock and frighten audiences. The film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is one of the earliest, most famous example of a film about aliens. Audiences were amazed by the subject content; that aliens exists and have visited Earth. This was the first time a popular film explored the notion of the government attempting to cover up the truth about aliens. This idea was taken even further in The X-Files which first aired in 1993. The key subplot of this show was the US government going to extraordinary lengths to deceive the public and cover up the existence of aliens. I love The X-Files. It is one of my all-time favourite shows. But I am able to recognise it for what it is. A brilliant piece of fiction. Fiction. The trouble is, some people believe it is based on fact. The success of this show cemented the idea that aliens have visited us and the government is lying about it. The 1996 film Independence Day depicted an alien invasion of hostile beings, a far cry from those shown in Close Encounters. This film also showed Area 51 as being the site of a crash-landed alien space ship, including alien corpses.
And speaking of Area 51, this post would be remiss if I didn’t give a “nod” to the all the people over the years who’ve come forward, claiming they used to work there and presenting what seems to be rather damning evidence of how ghastly and secretive the US Government is. Now I’m not naming names. As a reminder, this blog is not, nor has it ever been, a place for throwing shade or targeting specific individuals. Yes, some posts have named people, but whenever possible, I’ll avoid it. The problem with every single person who’s made these kind of claims, is that none of them can ever be substantiated. And what’s more, in every single case, it’s been proven that they never actually did work there. These folks just love to come up with even more nonsense about why their allegations can’t be proven. Such as saying that the government covered up their involvement and deleted any evidence of their lengthy lists of qualifications and distinguished careers. Easy lies that are impossible to prove.
But let’s be silly for a moment and pretend, just briefly, that it’s true. That aliens did crash land in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 (actually it was a weather balloon, but never mind, lets press on) and the US Government took the secret wrecked ship and living and dead aliens to Area 51 (which wasn’t actually established until 1955, so seems it was an eight year trip, but never mind, lets press on) and have been researching them to study and attempt to replicate their technology ever since (so after more than 60 years they’ve apparently still gotten nowhere which seems a bit unbelievable, but never mind, lets press on), and despite all the rumour, controversy and conspiracy theories which the government steadfastly denies, they’ve kept all this apparent alien tech and projects in progress at Area 51 and never moved it to maintain its secrecy. Really? No, really? Come on…
You don’t have to be a hardcore skeptic to see how utterly ridiculous this all is. It makes absolutely zero sense, no matter how you look at it, and how many glaring nonsensical inconsistencies you desperately try to ignore to keep running with the story, it’s just ludicrous. A recent social media campaign called for people to “storm” Area 51 to learn the truth of the place. Mercifully, this was abandoned when the US government made it absolutely clear they would shoot to kill, and wouldn’t hesitate, no matter how many people turned up. On a personal note I am extremely glad this campaign didn’t lead to a massacre. Especially because the truth of Area 51 was already revealed in June 2013 following a Freedom of Information request being granted and leading to the de-classification of many documents, proving the site was, and always has been, a military research and testing facility. These documents contained absolutely no mention of aliens or alien technology. Sorry conspirators…
So when this is all clearly nonsense, why do so many people fall for it? Why are there so many who are adamant, some even to the point of trying to marshal people to march toward brutal slaughter to prove it, that aliens exist and the government is hiding the evidence of this? It’s startlingly simple. People are tempted to believe these kind of over the top fabrications because who doesn’t love a great conspiracy story? It’s interesting, it’s exciting and it’s fun to go along with the drama and adventure of taking on the government. But before you fall into such a trap, remember. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. No exceptions.
Harley's Madhouse 