Monday, March 31, 2014

The ufologist's secret story.

Enthusiasm
This is the beginning. Our future UFO researcher makes contact with the ufological “corpus”. He reads all the books, and sooner or later, the new expert makes up his mind: he will also write a book with new ideas and he will try some lectures perhaps..!
At night, our convert watches the sky in awe. Who knows…the cosmic brothers will contact us soon, and the “reliable sources” promise that the cover up will end and disclosure will open the New Era of cosmic fraternity.
Professionalism.
Time goes by. Our new professional sold his book well and he is working on a new one. He is also learning a few things. About UFO not much and perhaps he understands now that there is not much to learn. Our ufologist knows of course that 95 % of all the UFO sightings are identified as natural phenomena, manmade artifacts of hoaxes. He also learns the tools of the trade, and what the market wants on UFO books. Publishers don’t care much about truth but about what things sell and what don’t. Either he plays by these rules or he finds a job outside the UFO subculture.
Lost of Innocence.
Now, since this ufologist is an intelligent and informed individual, we should consider the possibility of a split personality. What our expert knows and believes about the so called UFO phenomenon, is not what he writes or talks about. He is now familiarized with the ufological world, its lies, intolerance, mutual accusations, faked and unreliable sources, imaginary contactees and a formidable mass of nonsense. He is now familiar with conspiracy theories, fiction sold as fact, pseudo-events and unfulfilled predictions.
Time to choose.
For our ufologist it’s now time to choose. Either he recognizes his growing skepticism or goes with the flow.

The last possibility has to do with individual and social ethics and perhaps a crisis of moral values. The UFO expert must find the solution of this moral dilemma in the privacy of his consciousness.