An Extraterrestrial Testimony
Have aliens visited Earth? The question used to attract derision, bringing to mind grainy footage of blurry frisbees or men in green costumes. Over the past few years, attitudes have changed. Respectable institutions and individuals have gently nudged this highly divisive yet enduringly compelling question forward. Latest of these is whistleblower David Grusch.
The Claims
It’s important to note Grusch’s credentials are very real. A former military intelligence officer who worked on Pentagon taskforces investigating UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon is the newly accepted acronym), few would better understand the subject matter.
During a hearing with the House Oversight Committee, Grusch claimed the U.S. government had been purposefully withholding information about UAPs visiting Earth, the recovery of alien technology, and perhaps most importantly, non-human organic material – aka, chunks of alien.
The panel of delegates were clearly intrigued. Who wouldn’t be? When pushed for juicy details, however, Grusch fell spectacularly short, leaving us wondering whether galactic ray guns or just ET’s home cinema system were found. Similarly, there was no physical evidence, with the testimonies of 40 or so intelligence / military personnel provided in lieu. If nothing else, it was nice to see a bi-partisan panel of U.S. politicians fixated on one thing rather than attempting to rip each limb from limb.
One of the interviewees joined Grusch at the hearing. David Fravor, a retired Navy Commander, saw a ‘40 ft flying Tic Tac’ in 2004. There is evidence for this, with the Pentagon releasing the footage in 2020. While it doesn’t prove aliens visited Earth, it’s understandable how that conclusion could be reached and no one can explain what on earth it is.
It’s important to distinguish these claims. Fravor says he saw something he couldn’t explain, whereas Grusch claims definitively there has been contact with intelligent life. We need something more substantive than hearsay from an expert to believe this.
Counterclaims
I am not alone in my scepticism. The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute - an authority on the matter - remain equally unconvinced. Aside from Grusch’s ‘trust me, bro’ testimony, which naturally does little to convince scientists, the more compelling argument in their rejection is simpler. Why cover it up at all?
Often when faced with conspiracies, these arguments are far more effective than getting bogged down in the details. A rebuttal of flat-earthers is similar; why would everyone lie about this? Are the manufacturers of globes pushing the lie to keep their industry alive? Is Nasa doing it for a laugh?
Perhaps SETI is just jealous. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year scouring the heavens for cosmic neighbours, someone dares to suggest they were here all along. Maybe they should have looked harder.
Will It Go Anywhere?
Unless concrete evidence comes to light, it seems this story could fade, and rightly so. Frankly, it’s hard to see this getting the level of limelight had it taken place a few years ago. Now it’s more accepted, with the Pentagon’s 2020 declassification of various UAP videos and images leading to U.S. officials pushing for further disclosure – a decision that had a profound impact on public beliefs.
In 2019 around 33% of Americans believed aliens had visited – this rose to 41% by 2021. The videos are indeed hard to explain, but the leaps of logic made to the most unlikely scenario perhaps stem from a desire to believe there’s something else out there, and if there is, it thought us important or interesting enough to check out.