Directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1977, one of the paradigmatic movies that depicts a possible encounter with an extraterrestrial civilization is Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Relying on the expert input of the renowned astronomer and analyst of so-called “close encounters of the third kind,” John Allen Hynek, Spielberg offered the public a plausible encounter. Taking into account that he also directed the famous E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), we can easily deduce his particular interest in stories involving extraterrestrials.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind narrates the unfolding of events that directly involve the government, as most such events do. The events begin with the reception of various signals which, correctly deciphered, indicate the location of a place that will be visited by extraterrestrial spacecraft. Alerted to these signals, the government ‘invents’ an ecological disaster, purported to have resulted from the overturning of a train carrying toxic gasses. After the media is flooded with false reports about the fake catastrophe, the U.S. military evacuates the area where the encounter with visitors from other worlds is supposed to take place. Let’s keep this detail in our minds: pursuing a hidden agenda, the government publicizes a fake catastrophe through the media.
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Now, let’s step out of the world of cinematic fiction and re-enter the real world, where events that recently occurred in the United States Congress require our attention.
On May 17th of last year, the first public hearing took place within the U.S. Congress regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), also known as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), from the past 50 years. The testimonies presented were considered either ridiculous or, at best, too inconclusive to yield concrete conclusions. Everything would have remained in the purview of investigators who made such subjects their hobby if, on July 26th of the current year, another hearing about UAPs had not taken place. This time, the statements made by those involved were much more spectacular.
After Senator Robert Garcia stated that all UAPs “pose a serious threat to our military and our civilian aircraft,” he concluded by saying that more hearings should be conducted following reports of UAP sightings: “The more we understand, the safer we will be.” In accordance with such a request, Congress listened to the testimonies of three military personnel from the United States Air Force. Two of them, the former Navy F-18 pilot Ryan Graves and retired Commander David Fravor, personally reported encounters with unidentified flying objects. According to Graves, they could be foreign drones, in which case “it is an urgent national security problem.” He also did not rule out the possibility that UAPs might fall within the realm of science. In any case, it was concluded that these aerial objects were a cause for concern regarding flight safety, whether civilian or military.
A much more spectacular testimony came from a former Air Force intelligence officer, David Grusch, already referred to by Tucker Carlson in a viral video. Without claiming to have witnessed the dissection or preservation of any extraterrestrial spacecraft pilot, as happened with the main characters in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Grusch maintains that the U.S. government not only possesses extraterrestrial spacecraft but also the remains of their non-human occupants. We can now imagine Harrison Ford reading (or watching) the news and nodding approvingly.
If, in Steven Spielberg’s movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the U.S. government fakes an ecological catastrophe to prepare for a hypothetical encounter with extraterrestrials, we can wonder what the real purpose is when the same government, in real life, conducts hearings where we are told that extraterrestrials exist and that aerial encounters with their UFOs are a real danger. Consequently, it is absolutely legitimate and natural to try to understand what is the significance of such testimony claiming the existence of extraterrestrials.
The possibility that unidentified flying objects could pose a danger to civilian and military flights, as Ryan Graves has already mentioned, seems worthy of attention from the authorities. However, despite a significant number of such events, why has there never been a collision until now? Why were hearings on UAPs decided only in these recent years—after the COVID pandemic?
Additionally, we may wonder to what extent the discussions in Congress could have been influenced by studies such as “The Truth is Mostly Right Here: The Security Dilemma and the Earthly Logic of an Extraterrestrial Threat,” authored by Ian Oxnevad and published in 2021 in the Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. In his study, Oxnevad considers two main possibilities, which are familiar to many science-fiction movie watchers. The first, with no other significant consequences apart from cultural and civilizational impacts, is that of good extraterrestrials—aliens “with an amicable intent.” The second, as expected, is that of bad extraterrestrials, in which “the only safe response is the one recommended by offensive realism; namely, to maximize security capabilities in space as a domain.” This idea is reiterated as a compelling conclusion by the author who believes “that states engaging in space competition have little choice but to prepare for the possibility that such an idea could become a reality.” Could testimonies like those of the three aforementioned officers be the prelude to an increase in the budget allocated to such “security capabilities in space”? If we remember the famous Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) known in the press of the 1980s-’90s as the ‘Star Wars’ program, which was supposed to prevent any attack with nuclear missiles, nothing is impossible.
Re-enchanting the world
As expected, the Pentagon denied Grusch’s claims of a cover-up. In a recent statement, Sue Gough, the official spokesperson for the department of defense, said that “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently” has not been found. So, such testimonies could be just a cloud of smoke, or a means to gain notoriety. Testimonies like Grusch’s could be a lure for those seeking the miraculous recipe for future bestsellers. Beyond such possible motivations, the fact that Congress got involved in such digressions seems bizarre, unless we are dealing, as in Spielberg’s movie, with an illusory scenario meant to camouflage other intentions.
What is certain so far is the media effect. It is enough to check the channels of various influencers to see how the discussions about ETs and UAPs have multiplied. Overall, the impression one gets is that the public is being ‘educated’ to believe in the existence of little green men. On the other hand, you get the impression that discussions about the existence of God have never reached such public amplitude. I say this from experience. I have heard people who, simultaneously with proclaiming disbelief in the existence of God, the creator of the universe, almost religiously claim to believe in extraterrestrials. Considering the devastating consequences that UFO pseudo-religions have had on fanatical members, I believe there needs to be more caution in encouraging and spreading such information.
Those who are well-versed in Christian theology could explain why, based on the teachings of revelation about original sin and monogenesis, the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrials is excluded. Instead of filling the void left by the loss of belief in truly extra-terrestrial beings—the angels and saints of the Christian tradition—with sci-fi inventions, it would be much more beneficial for all of us if we strive to “re-enchant” the world, as Dr. Sebastian Morello puts it, with the content of Christian revelation as found in the sacred books of the Old and New Testaments. This content is more interesting and beneficial than any hypothetical green alien.
