Aliens? Do They Exist?

The government is set to release a highly anticipated report next week on the topic of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO's), which begs the question as to whether or not Aliens exist. I have to admit I have been aware of aliens and their existence for some months now, and I have been keeping it a secret. My neighbor is an alien, so are most of my peers, and some of my friends. Over a year into this pandemic, and I hardly recognize some people I have known almost my whole life.

In one instance, my mother had stepped outside to get the mail. She bumped into a neighbor, and as the two of them started conversation, my mother disputed a claim he made based off comments from Dr. Fauci, whom we call Dr. Doom at the blog. Horrified, my mother just walked away from him as he yelled after her. I have a strong feeling that had it been my father having the same conversation with my neighbor, he would not have had the gumption to yell at another man - but I could be wrong. Just a year ago politics would not have caused such animosity between life long neighbors, but things have changed.

In the words of Dr. Ben Carson, "Some have let politics become their spiritual food," and now a lot of society is beholden to the gospel of government. I have watched as many of my peers have unquestionably been willing to lock themselves down and take the government at face value for everything they are saying. People I grew up with in the classroom and greatly admired for their aptitude to learn and ask questions have bottled up their intellectual curiosity - and we must ask why?

Some time ago I quoted Jordan Peterson on this blog in what I have felt is one of the most important pieces I have written - I will link the essay below, but want to revisit the quote:

Anyways, for whatever reason, people turn to possession by very strict idealogical ideas, and are willing to be possessed by the ideas to the point that they are willing to undertake actions that you would think are impossible for theoretically civilized people...People knew what was going on in Nazi Germany, you don't just take millions of people out of your population.

I think within the context of today people have let themselves become possessed by the illusion of goodness. Historically, and in the most simple connotation, the story of humanity has been the struggle of good versus evil. One of the gravest mistakes we have made in the United States, is assume all of those in positions of power are good natured, because as a whole we are a people who strive for virtue and to be the best we possibly can.

People by and large strive for social justice today because we have come so far in the story of man, and to see injustice is something we as a people cannot tolerate. The issue however, is the reality differs from what the media and those in power are saying - and many of the people in such leadership positions unfortunately have an agenda, and their success is at the center of it.

We can no longer question authority, friends and neighbors have turned their backs on each other, and it's all because we are being taught to hate each other. Schools no longer teach students to be critical thinkers, and have stopped altogether the encouragement of exploration to the frontiers of intellectual curiosity in which people truly discover who they are and what they stand for.

People can see what is going on today. They can see the government overreach and the bad precedents being set. Nobody seems to really care though. I think COVID will be back in the fall and once it has been put to bed forever some new reasons will arise to keep us locked down in our homes. For the privileged amongst us we can work from home with ease, it's convenient not to commute, and life is generally just easier - but what about the less fortunate? What about those in school who have lost the ability to interact with their peers at an age where such socializing is integral to development? What about blue collar workers in restaurants and grocery stores among many other places, who aren't as lucky as others to stay home? What about those facing depression and increased addiction to alcohol, weed, or even opioids?

Joe Biden recently said, "Help is here," but Ronald Reagan had once said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help." Where is the help Joe? All I see is more class warfare and division. I see people taught to hate America, and people who I once grew up with who now feel inclined to judge me by skin color, rather than my character, as Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) once said.

SPOILER ALERT - Part of the reason Forest Gump was such a successful film is because the main character, Forest, never changes. From his earliest days to his last, he remained the same unwavering person. Change is okay, and I in-fact encourage it - one of the greatest aspects of human nature is our ability to change, but sometimes the outcome can be bad. In our case, we have regressed as a society. We have gone from storming the beaches of Normandy to repel evil from this world, to scrutinizing somebody over their pronouns.

Needless to say I have many concerns about the path we are going down. I fear greatly what the immediate future holds, but I will not give up my optimism. Two more quotes I want to discuss

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. -Ronald Regan

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Over the last year we have precisely sacrificed our liberty for safety, and as a result are ever so slightly on the brink of losing the freedoms we have not only enjoyed, but for which many have sacrificed everything to preserve.

You know I saw a girl I was very friendly with in college post on her Instagram, "Israeli's are the most vile people on Earth," and she supplemented it with a photo of a pig. The comment originated from a video of Israeli citizens making anti Islamic chants. The fact of the matter is the few do not represent the many. Just because a small number of people say or do bad things, it is not a representation of a whole. I recently published an essay from college I wrote on Israel and Palestine, but it's clear I need to further breakdown the topic. To generalize and make a comment such as this girl does nothing but spread anti-semitism. As MLK once said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." I condemn all forms of racism, I condemn what the Israeli people said in the video she shared, but I also condemn her - I condemn her for being guilty of the same crime she claims to fight and rally against.

So yes, I have met aliens. They didn't come from an extraterrestrial galaxy, I found them in my own backyard, walking amongst us. All I can do is hope you aren't one of them.

My essay on groupthink: https://www.morethananationblog.com/post/we-need-to-have-a-serious-talk-about-groupthink