Thursday, April 21, 2005

Whither Ufology?

Tomorrow, the X-Conference kicks off in Washington. All of us interested in the UFO phenomenon should use this moment to ask: "whither ufology?"

Is it going to head down the Exo-politics road, following Michael Salla, Steven Greer, Steven Bassett, and all of their whistleblowers?

Is it going to head further down the Conspiracy of Silence / Cosmic Watergate path, which has always been an undercurrent to the study of the phenomenon, but which has, since Roswell, taken center stage?

Or is it going to head in a "new" direction - back to the actual study of the phenomenon, as pursued many years ago by the likes of Hynek and McDonald?

To judge by the speakers line-up at the X-Con, and most of the other UFO conferences out there, it seems that the future is going to be a combination of Exo-politics and conspiracy theory (the two do tend to go hand in hand).

But (insert moment when Rich Reynolds and others call me naive)...

Rather than being the New Paradigm, these are the dying gasps of the Cult of Conspiracy (and these aspects are cult-like, in the same way that the SETI folks are cult-like). Attendance at conferences is down, no matter how hard the conference organisers deny it. The days of the college lecture circuit for UFO speakers are largely over. The media, by and large, ignores the UFO phenomenon.

Why?

Not because of some grand government conspiracy. Nope - it's because most people are sick of Exopolitics and conspiracy theories. They've simply tuned out. As one broadcaster told me about Roswell - "oh God, not another Roswell film - it's been done to death."

Ufology made a tragic mistake in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Instead of continuing to look at the evidence of sightings, and trying to develop a coherent methodology for studying that evidence, it veered off (largely thanks to Roswell) into the conspiracy field. And that seemed to work, to an extent - for a while. But then people got tired of it.

Why?

Because it is a dead-end.

Here's the "other side of the truth" about Exo-politics and the government "cover-up."

Yes - the government has been less than forthcoming about the UFO phenomenon.

No - there's nothing we can do about it, no matter how many FOIA requests are filed.

The irony of the Exopolitics / Government "cover-up" group's position is that if the government is all pervasive, as Salla et al suggest, then the truth, at least as the government knows it, will remain buried.

What?? After 60 years they're suddenly going to succeed where everyone else failed??

Puh-lease!

If, on the other hand, there is no "cover-up," as I suspect is the case (this is different than saying that the government has been fully forthcoming about what it does and, more importantly, doesn't know), and the government has always been as confused about the UFO phenomenon as the rest of us, then the past twenty years have, to a great extent, been wasted.

Either way, there is no gold to be found in "them thar conspiracy hills." It is a road that has led to MJ-12, Alternative 3, Bill Cooper, Area 51, Bob Lazar, and Richard Dolan's "Death of the Republic." It is the fringe of the fringe, and it is, increasingly, irrelevant to people who want the "truth" about the UFO phenomenon.

The "gold" is, as it has always been, in the skies above us. This was the real message of the ABC Special Seeing is Believing.

Fortunately, more and more people are starting to realise that.

As a British pal of mine might say, "it's about bloody time."

Paul Kimball

11 comments:

RRRGroup said...

Paul:

What else needs to be said? This, in a nutshell (well, maybe a nut word isn't the right one to use here), is exactly what ails the UFO movement.

Let those who have ears hear it, or those who have eyes, remember they saw it here first and foremost.

Rich Reynolds (who doesn't think you have a naive bone in your body)

Paul Kimball said...

Rich:

I'd love to take credit for this, but there are folks who have been saying the same thing for years now. I'm just echoing them.

Paul

RRRGroup said...

Paul:

It's not what's been said but how it's been said that counts.

People said lots of things before Shakespeare; things he used. But it was how he put it that made all the difference in the world.

Rich Reynolds

Paul Kimball said...

I've made a feature film based on MacBeth, but I ain't no Shakespeare.

More like Homer Simpson...

PK

Anonymous said...

How many posts have yet to be made regarding the current state of ufology? How much judgment do UFO researchers have left to pass against each other before they put aside their egos and work collectively?

I'm nineteen years old, and for the first time since I started seriously researching the UFO phenomenon about two years ago, I feel truly discouraged.

Any UFO researcher reading this has to know that this "community" cannot survive, let alone work effectively, when it is divided into multiple opposing camps. What's it going to take to start re-evaluating the entire field and begin a new UFO discourse, a new collective approach to this phenomenon?

What if Steven Greer, Stanton Friedman, and Paul Kimball could work together? Imagine the resources and expertise of each pooled into one effort, into one project in search of this so-called truth--no individual agendas or hidden goals.

Cut the intra-field politics. We're working against each other. Let's setup a message board and begin constructing a new UFO discourse, a new mode of UFO knowledge production.

Thank you,

Brad Hirn
blog in-progress

RRRGroup said...

Brad:

Hip-hip Hooray...you have it exactly right.

Let us all know when your blog is set up, and if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

Rich Reynolds
http://rrrgroup.blogspot.com

Paul Kimball said...

Brad:

You should feel discouraged, but don't blame me. I'm part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Alas, people like me can't work with people like Greer (he IS part of the problem), because we have nothing in common. For example, because of Greer et al, the prospect of any government hearings into the UFO question is now absolutely nil. That's the kind of damage they do.

Sometimes in life, you just have to acknowledge that not everyone can agree, that there are right and wrong ways of doing things, and that it's important to fight for the right ones, and oppose the wrong ones. It isn't a matter of ego, at least not in my case. It's a matter of knowing the difference between right and wrong.

Unfortunately, the "let's just all get along" approach that you propose is what has created the mess in the first place. It's a moral (and in this case evidential)relativism all too prevalent in today's society that abdicates the responsibility for making the tough calls.

Paul Kimball

RRRGroup said...

Paul:

While young Brad invites us to act according to Rodney King's dictum (Can't we all just get along?), I get the impression that he's suggesting we all be civil but that those who disagree with how the UFO thing has been and is shaking out should start their own forum and meeting place, even a whole new methodology.

I don't get the impression he's snarking at your comments, which are exactly right, and not a bitter invective, such as that which appear at our blog.

Rich Reynolds

Anonymous said...

Paul:

Although I would never ask, "Can't we all just get along?" I understand why you got that impression.

That's not my point. My point is that we can continue to criticize the "wrong" methods (and I do think a political angle should be included to some degree). We can continue to reinforce the divisions currently separating the UFO research community. OR... we can re-group and re-evaluate.

Yeah, I think it would be more productive in the long-term to allow for political and social implications. But you're right: we have the greater task of researching the evidence and figuring out UFOs in the first place.

I acknowledge that.

I agree with your comments, Paul. I do. I'm just reacting to my discouragement and asking you to help. I can't remain discontent without engaging the problem.

brad.

Paul Kimball said...

Brad:

Anything I can do in my limited capacity as an interested observer, just let me know.

Best regards,

Paul

Anonymous said...

Paul,

Well... Rich and I have been talking via email, and we want to attempt a new forum dedicated to a new UFO methodology, a new UFO discourse as I like to call it.

All serious and interested UFO researchers would be invited to this forum to discuss and collectively write a statement/declaration to the broader UFO research community.

Ideally, this declaration will say that we: [1] are dissatisfied with the current division within ufology; [2] wish to move forward beyond the intra-field politics and actually make progress in studying the UFO phenomenon; and [3] have developed the following methodology to do so.

(That's a rough outline.)

As far as the methodology... I think it should be focused on the UFOs themselves with an acceptance of and tolerance for new approaches, ideas, and implications. Rich and I agree that the socio-political implications of UFO secrecy should be viable topics IF the phenomenon validates them.

If the UFO phenomenon leads us to black budgets, then it is our obligation to seriously research black budgets. If the UFO phenomenon leads us to experimental aircraft, then it is our obligation to report the appropriate conclusions.

Either way, this entire field started with sightings in the sky. Are unproven sightings enough to warrant an exopolitical investigation? Well... we shall see.

Thank you,

brad.