UFOs: Why I Don't Believe

There are periodically UFO flaps.  One of the latest is around Steubenville, Texas--complete with at least one video. 

This tellls you why I do ot believe in UFOs as alien spacecraft, and why people who believe in a government conspiracy to cover up UFO information are part of my "you are a kook if:" series (including people who merely believe that there is solid evidence for alien spacecraft--a more minor kookism, but difficult to maintain WITHOUT believing in a government conspiracy).

We have the Space Shuttle.  We, and other countries, have spy satellites that are constantly oserviing, and mapping, the earth every day--satellites which can identify individual people from space.   GOOGLE has been accused of potential invasion of privacy with thsese DETAILED pwhotographs mapping the earth.  Radar, and intelligence surveillance, are EVERYWHERE (especially since 9/11).  Yet, there are people who believe that there can be a convincing VIDEOTAPE of an alien spacecraft flitting around Steubenville, Texas.  Even the cottage industry of UFO kooks (some are kooky all of the way to the bank--it is major TOURISM in Roswell) realizes that you can't possibly believe that an ordinary citizen can get a videotape of an alien spacecraft, or numerous ordinary citizens could see such spacecraft, without today's sophisticated technology "seeing" the alien spacecraft in MUCH more detail.  Thus, to believe in alien spacecraft flying openly around Steubenville, you have to believe in a MASSIVE government CONSPIRACY to cover it all up (the X-Files syndrome). 

I don't believe in massive conspiracies.   Way back when, circa 1960, I read the book by one of the Air Force people involved in "Project Blue Book"--the defunct U.S. Air Force project in the 1950's to look into the question of UFOs.  While I guess you could call it a "secret" project, the details were revealed long ago.  Despite the inability to expalin all "sightings", there was NO "conspiracy".  There was never ANY confirmation of alien spacecraft visiting the earth. 

Yet, people have been trying to activiely find such evidence for at least SIXTY YEARS--since rirght after World War II--including, of course, the infamous Roswell theories. It really is impossible to believe that all kinds of spacecraft are flitting around out there wtihout definitive evidence of their existence--at least without a government conspiracy.

The problem is that massive government conspiracies are themselves impossible to believe.  Conspiracies of that kind--allegedly over decades--COLLAPSE.  People talk.  You are actually talking about a conspiracy that would have to extend ove MANY governments.  We are also talking about an allegedly CLUMSY conspiracy, where every UFO kook knows about it.

Nope.  Conspiracies like that just don't exist in today's world of little privacy, and extensive communications (now including cell phone cameras everywhere). 

Since a massive government conspiracy is essentially impossible, you are left with the idea of alien spacecraft revealing themselves to everyone BUT the government--another effective impossibility.  Plus, whether you had an unbelievable government conspiracy or not, WHY would alien spacecraft reveal themselves only in this "game playing" way--not really hiding but not really coming into the open.  That is yet another impossibility.

I am convinced that there is life, including intelligent life, on other planets.  Whether you believe in God or not, WHY would you believe in an EMPTY universe, with all of those galaxies, stars, and planets, with intelligent life limited to ONE planet.  I think that makes no sense from either a religious or scientific point of view (the essence of science is that there are no "unique" events that cannot be reporduced).

Given that there is inteeligent life elsewhere, why might it not visit the earth.  Well, there is that speed of light limitation.  But I am open to the idea of alien visitors.  In fact, I would DEARLY like to see it happen--especially with a "faster than light" space drive. I have been a science fiction reader almost all of my life.  Now almost 61, I am giving up hope that I will ever walk on another planet, or experience the thrill of contact with an alien civilization.  My ONLY hope (obviously a longshot, even then) of "going to the starts", or to another planet, is for an alien civilization to bring us a space drive (along with a longevity, rejuvenation method).  Even just knowing about an alien civilization would be the thrill of my life.

But you are a kook if you think thatthere are alien spacecraft flitting about for no reason, without detection by all of our sophisticated surveillance.  You are even more of a kook if you believe in a massive conspiracy to cover up such alien spacecraft buzzing around places like Steubenville (for no reason). 

Could not aliens be observing the earth, and make a mistake?  Sure.  It is POSSIBLE.  But "lights in the sky" and videotapes of DELIBERATE alien exposure, are ridiculous.  "Sightings" like that merely emphasize that we have NO real evidence of a visitation by an alen spacecraft.  In all of this UFO chaff, is it POSSIBLE that there is a "real" event involving an alien spacecraft whose "cloaking" failed?  Of course, but how could anyone possibly KNOW?  There is just too numch "noise"--too MANY "reports".  It is impossible to pick one incident out and show that it is REAL.  Nor does the existence of so many "sightings" indicate that "where there is smoke, there is fire". 

The more "sightings" there are, the more obvious it is that you can't depend on ANY of them to be real.  Since any REAL sighting would be incredibly RARE, it is just as likely that ALL of the numberous sightings are something other than alien spacecraftm as it is that there are a FEW real sightings.  The number of false sightings (false in the sense of being alien spacecraft, time travelers, etc.), that there is no way to bootstrap from the number of FALSE sightings, to the argument that there are so many sightings that some have to be truely alien spacecraft.

Nope.   I thik it is impossible to see any present EVIDENCE that we are being visited by alien spacecraft. It is POSSIBLE, but the eivdence is not there.  The massive number of "sightings" merely preclude any chance of spotting a REAL sighting in all of the false ones.  I am afraid that there is little other than actual, confirmed, "contact" that would convince me that alen beings are now visiting/observing the earth.