When it comes to UFOs, we don’t know the right answer. The truth is still out there.
And it may be out there for a while. A new federal government report on UFOs couldn’t explain 143 of 144 military aviation encounters, which the government, never one to pass up the opportunity to create a clumsy acronym, now calls UAP, short for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. The one explainable encounter? A large, deflating balloon.
We didn’t expect the brief, unclassified report to include selfies of a little green guy from another world at a Texas Rangers game. Heck, folks are still looking for Sasquatch and Nessie. Good luck with those searches, too.
That leaves us pretty much where we have always been — believing whatever we want to believe.
According to a Gallup Poll in 2019, one-third of Americans believe that UFOs are alien spacecraft visiting Earth from other planets or galaxies. Still, 60% also think these sightings can be explained by human activity or natural phenomena. And while bipartisanship is a mystery in Washington, it isn’t regarding alien encounters. About 30% of Republicans and 32% of Democrats believe in spacecraft from other planets.
The belief in UFOs plays into the expanse of human imagination. For decades, movies and popular culture spotlighted one of two themes — the friendly extraterrestrial or the fleet of militaristic visitors intent on destroying all humans. Since at least the 1940s, just about any phenomena in the sky has been labeled a “flying saucer,” cultural shorthand for hopes and fears of how earthly mortals fit into a wider universe. With uncertainty come conspiracies, fantasies and imagining a reality beyond ourselves.
Nonetheless, the possibility that life exists elsewhere drives our exploration of space and encourages additional inquiry and interpretation. Astronomers estimate that we share the Milky Way galaxy with 300 million habitable worlds. So why can’t these be homes for intelligent life and advanced technology? Or so we speculate.
Without a doubt, the report erases some of the stigma of aviators talking openly about unexplained radar and visual encounters of the close kind. But will we know for sure anytime soon? Don’t bet on it. Much of our own planet remains a mystery, let alone oddities in the skies. And not having the scientific tools to explain an anomaly only means that we’ll have more questions than we have hard evidence.
Yes, the truth is still out there and may be out there for a long time to come.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.