12/3-12/9: Will the Real E.T. Please Stand Up?

A recent Harper's Index noted that 49 percent of Americans believe the government conceals evidence of alien life. Blame it on the X-Files? Or do we really believe in E.T.? Do you think the goverment is concealing evidence of alien life? And what about this statistic? Is it encouraging or forboding?

Here's what Tripod members had to say:

Spiffy_the_De ath_Cat: If anyone thinks that the government could cover up something as big as the discovery of aliens, they are not looking at all of the facts. The government is made up of politicians, and politicians will leak any story that will get them fame, fortune or recognition. Even top secret aircraft developed in area 51 (groom lake) cannot be kept secret. (I do not have a security clearence yet, so anything I say is speculation).

Also, if aliens were intelligent enough to create spacecraft capable of traveling to Earth, I seriously doubt that any government would have the ability to cover up their attempts to contact humankind.

formicacid: Moulder said it in this week's episode: if all the top scientists believe there is possible evidence of life having existed millions of years ago on a planet other than our own, why is it so difficult to believe that live E.T.'s might be found on our planet now? Of course we can't deny psychological reasons explaining why people might want to believe -- such as it is often easier to speculate on otherworldly things and forget about the problems down here for a bit longer. But seeing as how the government has already hidden so much from us, and alien life is being scientifically proven, it is easy to speculate and believe that the government is concealing evidence of alien life. question: if intelligent alien life is a reality, and if said life is concealed by the government, why does this alien life allow itself to be hidden? (assuming that this life is more advanced than us)

Kornknuts: Yes....the government definitely has/is concealing evidence of alien life.

formicacid: And of course it took the pentagon 2 years just to tell us that there is ice on the moon (at least, we are told they only knew about it 2 years ago). At this rate, they will tell us about E.T. after what, 2000 years?

kiddenter: Hmmm, aliens huh.. a government conspiracy.. well I don't know.. maybe or maybe not.. hmm lets see yes and no aliens exist. Even though God said nothing about them being here, he also didn't explain how Caine found a woman to marry when at the time Adam and Eve only had two sons. I think there is a possibility that they do exsist, but don't be looking for them around here unless we suddenly are able to travel beyond the solar system. About Mars, well theory is that is only part of what used to be a large planet (astriod belt is the other part). I think society has watched too many sci-fi movies, not saying I don't like Star Trek cause I do.. If there is a cover up we won't know about it for another 50 or so years or until there is an evasion. Hmmm I think I just wrote a book.. *hehe* I wish I wasn't so smart.. hmm I might just be half Alien and half human.. never know...

JadeFalcon: The current government of this country has the power to conceal any information that it deems classified. I am a lowly Communications Specialist in the Idaho Army National Guard and I know things that I have been "forbidden" to reveal to people. It is impossible to imagine what the CIA, FBI, or other secret agency has uncovered. I believe that there is a strong chance that the government is concealing alien technology and/or evidence from the general populace. If and when they reveal that information, it would be nice to see what they have!

zbynl: If aliens are really so advanced, why would they allow themselves to be "covered up"? Did they just come to earth to hang out with all those cool dudes in the secret service? If there really were aliens that arrived on our planet you'd think that they would want to make themselves known, to change humankind.

LordA: I think there must be other life out there because our Solar system is really big, there are lots of Solar systems in our Galaxy, and there are billions of Galaxies in the Universe. And our Galaxy is SIX TRILLION miles across. That's too much room for just one race.

SlickPickles: There is no question about it. Enough circumstantial evidence has leaked out for suspicion to be raised without sacrificing confidentiality, but is this a coincidence? Well, take my advice... nothing is coincidence. There is a Hangar 18 in Arizona. There is alien life here on Earth. And there is a considerable amount of government secrecy. All of this can be disputed, but I personally find it hard to believe otherwise.

grok: Interesting how that percentage virtually matches the Clinton vote.... something to think about. ;^)

No, sad to say, but I think that if a race COULD exceed the speed of light to get here, then there wouldn't be a damned thing the government could do to keep them from telling everyone hello.

Of course, the future can bring many wonders, and I would like to be around if it did happen! (BTW, don't ever attribute to conspiracy what can be attributed to stupidity -- stupidity wins out every time!)

cottingamej: I do think that is is foolish for us to think that there is no life in the universe other than us. There is life out there, but I'm not so sure it is intellegent. With the millions of galaxies in the universe there have to be planets like ours, and those planets probably have life. Maybe some day we will know.

ralphb: It may simply be that advanced civilizations invariably destroy themselves with their own technology, and never advance to the stage where they can reach out to other worlds. This grim theory makes a lot more sense than incredible conspiracies.

LMN: I heard an interesting theory the other day -- what if these so called "aliens" are just human beings thousands (or even millions) of years into the future? Doesn't it make sense that if humans figured out time travel, they would want to go back in time and see how they used to be? And how perfect that they would choose to appear to the people whom no one would believe, to the people who run to National Enquirer and not the New York Times. I don't think the government is hiding anything from us, I think the "visitors" are much more clever than that. If they want us to know, then we'll know.

makavel1: I really think that the government is trying to hide intelligent life form until they can either master or duplicate what they have so far accomplished.

DoPod: Sure do:) Check out my UFO related site called Pod Central.

KimoZ: I believe there is alien extraterrestrial life. The government may indeed be hiding something about ET intelligence or lifeforms (and their technology). The government is not composed entirely of politicians, and there definitely are inner rings or circles of people within the political system doing things that our out and about government doesn't really know. We can never really be sure until we ourselves have concrete experiential or even material evidence of the big question.

brandnb: The government couldn't cover up a coffee stain, let alone evidence of alien life. Time and time again the government has shown itself to be incompetent and to have a complete lack of any kind of clue whatsoever. If there were an attempt to cover up something as important to the development of humanity as say a UFO crash, somehow, one way or another, something would get out. As to whether or not this is indeed what happened in the case of the Roswell crash is anyone's best guess...

Bazooka_Joe: Personally, being an active duty USAF member I can say in full assurance that there probably aren't a whole lot of aliens being hidden by the .gov/.mil. *Probably* After all, if aliens wanted to contact the intelligent life on earth, they *probably* wouldn't make first contact with bureaucrats.

Kanayakaners: There's a lot of 'something' outside this world. If the question is "Is this something including 'alien' (like in the movies)?" the answer is still "Maybe". But if the answer is "Is this something including lifeform?" the answer will "Definitely". And when we ask "Are they intelligent beings?", the answer still lies there, somewhere between spaces and the government secret vault!!!

CDW56: I was stationed at Holloman AFB, New Mexico- just over the Tularosa Mountains from Roswell, where the "weather balloon" crashed in the forties. As a combat troop with a TSC level III clearance, I can assure you that there is much that the government covers up. And here's some interesting info for you. One night, while on a mid shift, some troops and I went exploring the old abandoned part of the base (the base is some 500 sq. miles, much just desert.) We discovered an old hanger that had been converted to some use other than its original construction. The remains of security fencing are there. The windows are bolted over with steeel plating 1 inch thick. After "someone" pried off the plating we sent in someone. He reported that there was a freight elevator that ran the entire length of the hangar and also dropped down below the floor. We could see that someone had partially melted the cables on the lift so that it could not move. He also reported that there was a stairwell leading down below ground level that had been filled with cement. To the left of the hanger are the foot-pads for a large water tower that is no longer there. There are also the remains of a power generator. We later took a guy from Civil Engineering out to the sight and he told us that both water tower and generator were sufficient to supply the entire base as it existed in the 40s -- but all conduits run exclusively into the hangar. One of us could not keep our mouth shut and soon we were called before the base commander who interrogated us as to what we had seen and then forbade us to visit the site again or discuss it. This may not be concrete proof, but it's good enough for me. There is also a Det-7 group somewhere on the base (noone knows where) which is pretty much a guarantee of clandestine activities. Also -- people tend to forget the press release issued by the Public Affairs Officer of Holloman AFB back in '47 which read to the effect that "We have recovered an unknown ship with bodies on board; and they are not human." Not a direct quote but an admission of finding. In print. Then hastily retracted. Hmmmmmm.

venom001: If you think the government is hiding something llike this or aliens are on earth kidnapping people, get a life!! Or else you'll freak out really soon. I'm not saying there aren't aliens out there. I'm definitely sure there are thousands of other lifeforms in space (intelligent or not), but I'm also sure there isn't any besides us in the solar system. I do have a theory though... have you ever seen a picture of a baby in the mother's womb? At a certain stage, its face looks surprisingly like the "ideal" face of a alien. This leads to the conclusion of my "theory" that they are our evolutionary ancestors, because our stages in birth traces our evolutionary past. Then again, it's only a thought...

George_Harrison: I believe in aliens. I always have. For a while when I was a kid I hoped I was one. Actually I still do, it would explain a whole lot about me. Anyone who doesn't believe in aliens is very closed minded. How could WE, in this infinite universe, be the ONLY forms of life? I think it is possible that we were visited by aliens in the past, when humans were far less advanced, and that we all descended from a mixture of aliens and humans, and that is why we evolved so quickly. I'm not saying that I believe this IS what happened, just that it's a possibility. There are cave paintings all over the world that look like the typical alien (the greys) heads. Think about it, if we travelled to a distant planet, and found tribes of primitive beings who revered us because we came from the sky wouldn't you feel a need to help them? Show them a few mathematical basics, stuff like that. Then, lo and behold, it's time to go.

fishb8: Aliens exist. Why do you think the government covers up Area51? I've been to the "town" of Rachel right outside the Restricted Area. There are gaurds in cammo in white jeeps that follow you. They sometimes point guns at you, etc. Why do they do that?

CJacobs: There are aliens. I am one.

SHEEP01: The government created the story of UFOs to conceal top secret projects including human testing, and creating new machinery (like the stealth bomber). I'm not saying there are no aliens, just not that the goverment knows of.

BubbaFett: Yes,I think the goverment knows about "ALIEN life" and has known for a couple of decades and has never told anyone about it. I think that they see this info as a risk. So they can continue their experiments on the "aliens". The goverment conceles everything. The goverment is somewhat unreliable.

lord_pete: But seriously folks.. What are the odds that we're the only intelligent life forms in the universe.. we're talking almost infinite amount of light years.. and earth is the only planet that can sustain intelligent life. I definitely think there are.

EmeraldCastle: I personally don't think this is a legitimate question. First of all...if the Government is concealing evidence from us who really cares? I know I don't...and if they are not...who cares? Don't we have anything better to do then contemplate whether or not this is true? I think we need to focus on our own planet and make it a better place to live...and not worry about if there is Alien life out there and whether or not the Government is concealing tales of Alien life.

HonestBoy: I don't know about government cover-ups and all of that, but it's pretty inane for anyone not to at least believe in the possiblility of other intlelligent life in the universe.

The universe is huge, and our solar system is just a minute part of it. To think that only ONE planet in ONE solar system contains life is ridiculous. (We'll forgive all those who believe exactly what the bible says for they only believe what they've been told to believe).

Of course all of this is not to say that we have ever actually been visited by aliens. But if we were, don't you think NASA would be pretty embarrassed that they didn't find a way to get to them first.

formicacid: fishb8 -- I've had guns pointed at me by soldiers in various central american countries, do you suppose they were hiding aliens too?

There are many possible reasons for security, even in remote areas like the hills surrounding Rachel, Nevada.

During the forties there was quite a bit of security in a remote location in New Mexico; plenty of government people with guns and all. But they weren't hiding aliens, just mankind's first atomic bomb. Scandalous, isn't it?

Not that I dont believe the government is concealing aliens and all that jazz, but I'd rather concern myself with more down to earth matters for the moment, like Iran-Contra type scandals. Imagine this conspiracy: all alien life evidence is made up by the government and slowly leaked out to the public. Why? So the public will pay less attention to scandals like military radiation testing on humans during the fifties or U.S.-backed death squads in El Salvador and concentrate instead on the possibilities of alien life.

Our fascination with aliens is a way for us to ignore worldly problems.

Just_A_Tad: I feel that humans are arrogant if they think that we are the only "life forms" in existence. Extraterrestials may indeed exist..and if there is a cover up...it is because the government is just as afraid of what they don't know as any human is afraid of the unknown. Yet what concerns me is not the "alien conspiracy," but the fact that so many people "trust" our government. What they tell us should be taken with a "grain of salt." And if we want to know the "truth," we need to search for it....not count on someone else to tell it to us.

formicacid: And another thing: We are often taught that the universe is comprised of many, many stars. It's obvious, isn't it? Just look up at the sky and each of those dots refers back to a separate star.

What if ours is the only star that exists? How would this be possible? Let's suppose that space-time warps around itself many times and thus reaches the same spot many times over. each star we see in the sky would then not be a separate star, but rather our own star's light reflecting back on itself.

To make it more obvious, imagine that we see only one other star in the sky. Then imagine that space-time is a circle, or perhaps torus shape. Then the light from our star would reflect back on itself, creating the illusion of another star in the sky.
Now imagine many, many circles of space-time. Light from our star travels down all these paths and reaches the same point -- our star -- giving the illusion of many, many stars in the sky.

How to account for different types of stars? If one arm of space-time was longer than another, then it would take the light longer to reach us, thus creating a different type of light, which could be (mis)interpreted as a different kind of star. If we worked through enough math, I feel that we could account for most spacial phenomena and still not disprove this theory.

If our universe consists of only one star, then it would be that much more unlikely that alien life exists anywhere else in the universe. And just to throw a conspiracy in here, maybe the government knows this and this is what they are covering up.