This year has had its fair share of surprises.

Ranging from Elon Musk’s Twitter drama, an invasion turned into a horrific war that has us on the brink of a third World War and possible nuclear destruction, and at the same time, pictures from deep in space thanks to human ingenuity and cooperation that had the world collectively gasping with wonder and amazement.

This was also the year of the first Congressional open hearings on unidentified flying objects since Project BLUE BOOK 50 years ago.

The last few years have seen a formerly fringe topic covered by major mainstream journalistic outlets such as The New York Times, Fox News, and CNN. 

The coverage and the hearings had some in the UFOlogy community encouraged, while others who had hoped for more transparency and sustained interest became discouraged.

However, the year is not over, and the rumor is that more significant news is coming in the last two months or so of the year.

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A Brief Recap

It’s been a minute since we’ve touched on this subject, so allow me to give a brief, albeit not an all-encompassing, recap of some recent UFO news over the last year or so.

This year Congress held open hearings on the UFO phenomena, which has been redesignated as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). 

Before these hearings, the subject of UAPs had gained traction thanks to Naval videos released to the public of fighter pilots engaging with UAPs. Along with the videos was the discovery that the Pentagon had been looking into UAP events through the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, headed by Luis Elizondo.

The hearings helped spur the evolution of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force into the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group, because the government never passes on an opportunity to adjust nomenclature from ridiculous to more ridiculous. But it wasn’t just the Pentagon and Congress getting in on the UAP action.

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Expanding Interest, Waning Support?

NASA announced it would dedicate a paltry $100,000 to UAP research and, this past week, selected 16 scientists and experts for the study that will last for nine months.

But, of course, civilian enthusiasts have always been a vital component of the UFO world, and none other than Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge has also been involved with the disclosure movement with his To The Stars venture.

There are also scientists outside of NASA diving into the deep end of the search for extraterrestrial life, such as Avi Loeb and his Galileo Project. This surge in interest, you would think, would bring the believer community together. Instead, however, if you follow the Twitterverse, it seems as though the community is more at odds with each other than ever.

Mr. Elizondo wrote a recent op-ed on the subject titled ‘Why UFOlogy Must Die,’ of which the theme of the social media UFO wars was front and center. In his article, he describes what his ideal state would be:

“I want a UFOlogy where academics, scientists, elected officials, government leaders, and theologians can interact with the public, free from the click-bait misdirection created by attention hounds or social media profiteers posing as disclosure activists.”

While I understand the general idea that Mr. Elizondo wishes for, I would argue that his list of typically trusted sources has proven time and time again, even outside the realm of UFOlogy, that they can’t be trusted. I would further argue that if it weren’t for those individuals who are outside those areas of influence, the world of UFO investigation wouldn’t be where it is today.

And as someone who covers and tracks multiple subjects, I can also say with confidence that the UFO subject is far from the only one out there that falls victim to misdirection and click-bait.

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Ebb and Flow

While the search for little green men is still somewhat fringe, the interest by mainstream news outlets and the science community has remained steady and seems to be surging yet again. New footage and air traffic control recordings dropped this month from UAP engagements across the Pacific Ocean that span a time frame between August 6th and September 23rd of this year.

Additionally, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) have dedicated three committees to study UAPs. The AIAA UAP venture includes former Navy fighter pilot Ryan Graves, who experienced UAP encounters in 2014 and 2015. 

Mr. Graves brings up what is perhaps the struggle with UFOlogy as a whole, stating:

“This topic is not for everyone. It is not about forcing people to look into this if they are not ready yet. People have to come to terms with it.”

As someone who covers government corruption often, I don’t think if the world discovered that the U.S. government was hiding its knowledge of extraterrestrial life would be that earth-shattering. Unfortunately, our government has a long history of keeping things from the American public.

What would, in my opinion, cause more of a disruption culturally is the idea that we aren’t alone in the universe and what that means for our concept of who we are and where we come from. 

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Pandora’s Box

UFO researcher Jeremy Corbell recently hinted at some new UFO information dropping soon, stating:

“Regarding the mystery of UFOs, the silver bullet is coming.”

He goes on to state:

“The moment it is understood by the public that not only have we obtained spacecraft-fabricated by a non-human intelligence – but that we have also been attempting to reverse engineer that technology for decades…Pandora’s box is finally open.”

I’m always a fan of those who name-drop literary nuggets, and Pandora’s box is a classic in greek mythology. If you are unfamiliar, Pandora opened a box that she wasn’t supposed to open, which then released various curses on mankind, including sickness and death.

A gripping literary drop from a UFO enthusiast concerning disclosure. But I think there is a fair argument to be had here. President Ronald Reagan, at the apex of the Cold War, made comments suggesting that at if aliens visited Earth, it would be a unifying event for humanity and essentially make the Cold War obsolete. 

Some think that is true and hope that news drops soon since we seem more at odds with each other than ever.

However, I’m not so sure it would be that quickly wrapped up in a Kumbaya moment. Let’s say we do find out soon that not only have aliens visited us, but that the government covered it up. 

That raises some interesting and disturbing follow-up questions. What about all the people who had alleged they’d been seen something, been visited, or even been abducted, and were not believed?

Talk about a #metoo moment; at a minimum, I would argue that being abducted without your will and experimented on is a criminal offense, if not a full-blown human rights violation. History may not look kindly on our alleged alien visitors. If the government knew about it and obfuscated this activity, that would make them enablers of this new form of personal invasion. 

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Tick Tock

I’m not one to generally buy into rumors, but all signs point to some news coming soon regarding UAPs. Technically the Pentagon has to provide an updated report to Congress by none other than Halloween.

Some within the UFOlogy community argue that once the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is signed, which should be sometime around the midterms, we should see some new Congressional hearings. The argument behind that theory is that the NDAA and the Intelligence Authorization Act have protections for UAP whistleblowers. 

This brings up what I think is the most exciting aspect of Congressional UAP activity. Within the Intelligence Authorization Act is some interesting language, to include the requirement for the Comptroller General to:

“compile and itemize a complete historical record of the intelligence community’s involvement with unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena, including successful and unsuccessful efforts to identify and track…”

For those who don’t remember, I think this was a touchpoint from the last hearings when Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray tap-danced around knowledge of any other efforts to investigate UAPs outside of the task force. Even more salacious is the phrasing in the act that requires the Comptroller General to:

“evaluate efforts by the intelligence community to obfuscate, manipulate public opinion, hide or otherwise, provide unclassified or classified misinformation”

As if that’s not jaw-dropping enough, they are to go back as far as 1947. Does that year sound familiar? 

It should; it’s when the alleged Roswell UFO incident (allegedly) occurred.

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Where Do We Go From Here?

Whether you are a believer or not, it’s hard to deny that this renewed interest in if we are alone if aliens have visited us, and what our government does or doesn’t know is fascinating. The base questions surrounding UFOs are interesting, but perhaps the secondary and tertiary questions provide the most curiosity.

The dream of reaching Mars seems closer than ever. It is forcing scientists and philosophers to ask thought-provoking questions on how we should best go about this expansion.

After all, those of us who love and study history know that we aren’t necessarily known as a species that explores and expands without some severe consequences. It’s one thing to pay for those mistakes here on Earth; it’s another when faced with intergalactic neighbors and consequences.

Still, more good than bad has come with our desire to see what lies over the horizon. Pandora may have released sickness and death, but she also unleashed hope onto the world.

The idea that we might not be alone in this universe, that we may be possible of things greater than our earthly constraints, and that there may be more that binds us all than divides us is born in that hope, and this new surge in curiosity. While I am still a skeptic, I am a hopeful skeptic.

I believe the truth is out there, but we can’t just hang our hopes on those in power to take us to that truth. Instead, we must continue asking questions, looking for answers, and reaching for the stars. 

Because I believe the truth is out there… and it is in the stars. 

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