government aliens

government aliens

Government Involvement with Extraterrestrial Life: A Scholarly Examination

1. Introduction to the Study of Government and Alien Encounters

The secret of an alien cover-up would have two important implications. The first is a political one: Through this cover-up, the political elite would reveal that they disregard democratic accountability. The second is an epistemological implication at the level of human consciousness because the evidence about life in the cosmos would force many people to “reinterpret their place in the universe.” Specifically, many religious beliefs could no longer be considered in their traditional context. We shall start our literature review with a focus on governments worldwide dealing with the topic of extraterrestrial life and UFOs. Next, we shall show that there is evidence – mainly through opinion polls – of a societal expectation about government relations to possible extraterrestrial life. What makes this approach valuable for any cultivation of the political factors in the search for extraterrestrials is that it uses the sovereignty argument. The notion of sovereign states taking decisions makes it an arbitrary task for the authorities to “interpret our attitudes in a rule-bound manner.”

2. Historical Accounts of Government Interaction with Extraterrestrial Phenomena

Government bodies that would have this capability to collect the information are highly classified. Their personnel and their secret action programs are immune from public scrutiny. This is particularly so when any body dealing with such can address the situation under a scenario of a national security nature. Open society is, in effect, left at their mercy, and the enforced resignation is that the rights of the public must be overridden for the so-called greater good of the internal state. They state that the national government has a class security administration in an accountable way. We must take everything into consideration and investigate what is postulated as a power or powers beyond the conceived act – indeed and accountable to no one!

Although the previous section has indulged in historical suppositions regarding the supposed interaction between government agencies and extraterrestrial phenomena, there are, in fact, numerous accounts of government personnel who have been involved. Naturally, these incidents involve encounters that carry the high contradiction that results from their forming part of government secret and open operations. Given the intrinsic secret nature of these incidents, they could, if factual, hold a considerable explanation of the official interest in UFOs on a worldwide scale.

3. Contemporary Government Policies and Initiatives on Alien Disclosure

Kenneth Michael Dolan asserts that, “In every country of the world, the government involved with extraterrestrial contact will eventually have to release the truth (whatever it may be, however shocking and previously unimagined) to the society it represents.” Even though in most countries of the world, such government action has been far from proactive, TDNPs nonetheless frequently contain regional and national accounts of government activities associated with highly strange or official extraterrestrial contact. For instance, as Stephen Bassett in his forward to Hidden Truth – Forbidden Knowledge observed, “Beginning in 1992, the government [of the U.K.] publicly played out an expensive game concerning Woods’ residence status and the reason for his presence in the country, and did so for about eight years before backing off. During this time, he could only work by special dispensation.” Later, Japan and Spain are also mentioned by Robert Wood and Ryan S. Wood as governments actively involved in their censorship efforts involving extraterrestrial visitor material.

Whatever the exact nature of possible UFO/ET phenomena, political bodies in many countries have taken notice, and in some, such as the former Soviet Union and the current Russia, considerable government research and disclosure efforts have been enacted. As we have already mentioned, the French government has officially admitted that UFOs are real and of unknown origin. What other contemporary national government policies and research concerning extraterrestrial contact exist?

4. Theoretical Frameworks and Ethical Considerations in Government-Extraterrestrial Relations

The proposal made here to aid in crystallizing extraterrestrial relations is through use of a theological or faith issues framework. This platform that scholars in religion and political science frequently employ refers to more specific ethical and metaphysical/epistemological coordinates given in various religious traditions. As Linda B. Miller asks, “Are cosmology, or civilizations, or space travel, village politics or urban sprawl matters of religious significance? What the answers to these questions reveal about both religious belief and practice and in turn about themselves?” Religious and ethical thinkers often debate ideas and societal norms. Ethically, it asks questions about how human relations with extraterrestrials should be framed and what sort of methodological principles one might invoke to address those questions. Indeed, it is often the religious and philosophical traditions that address key human-nature relationships such as Joseph Miller suggests in considering the behavior of Christians confronting extraterrestrial intelligence.

Numerous scholars have engaged with the question of how and why state and government agents should interact with the question of extraterrestrial life. However, ethical examination in this field is less frequent. Among the earliest examinations, Christopher McCurdy noted the “ethical challenges in identifying, describing, and managing the discovery of extraterrestrial life, including the treatment of other sentient beings and (hopefully) other intelligent species and the means for communication and the foundation for cooperation among human civilization and any newly contacted other civilizations or biospheres.” Making use of some of McCurdy’s reflections, it is possible to both crystallize and elaborate upon the ethical challenges raised by government involvement with the question of extraterrestrial life.

5. Conclusion and Future Research Directions

This academic-based examination addressed the subject head on and determined if such governmental involvement was justifiable in terms of an economic impact analysis, as measuring economic productivity is important because an economy’s standard of living is directly related to the productivity of citizens. Only a few works of science fiction provide the concept of economic productivity being affected by extraterrestrial life. Based on compelling reasons and the future possibilities of what might happen to Earth’s economy should extraterrestrial life visit or affect Earth’s economic progress, it was determined a priori that perhaps government involvement with extraterrestrial life was logical. As part of addressing this goal, the subject was examined in context with the United States only, as the country’s extraordinary circumstances were known and answered the subject of interest. In conclusion, future research thoughts were proposed.

Based on analysis of prior academic work, scholars from several academic fields believe that government involvement with extraterrestrial life is a given. Over time, the public has harbored great curiosity about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, with various media outlets frequently reporting on this subject. Even scientists are interested in the possible existence of extraterrestrial life, with some scientists searching for signs of life on other planets. However, academic scholars have largely avoided formally addressing the subject of governmental involvement with potential extraterrestrial life, either in terms of extraterrestrial life possibly affecting the future economic productivity of Earth or the potential societal impact should contact be made. This omission by academic scholars is unexpected given that several world governments have initiated proactive, international programs specifically to search for extraterrestrial life.

Introduction