NOTE: The following is for those who already believe in alien visitation on Earth. It is not intended as a piece to convince those who don't.
The Question
In the realm of extraterrestrial study there are few questions asked as often as the most natural one: "Why don't they reveal themselves?". Many theories have been created as an explanation for why this hasn't happened.
These 3 are probably the most prevalent ......
1. Revealing themselves would cause mass hysteria amongst us and/or we'd attack them.
2. Mankind is too unevolved and disappointing for them to associate with us.
3. They don't want to interfere with our natural course of development as a species.
We'll be looking back at these theories individually later. While no one can claim to know for certain why ETs don't come out into the open, I doubt the popular theories. Namely because they are built on what I believe to be a very flawed presumption. This presumption is common though evidence suggests it to be a bad and even dangerous one. The presumption each of these theories is based on is that these extraterrestrials are benevolent or helpful beings. But is that necessarily the case? I would argue that the evidence says they are often quite the opposite.
The prehistoric depictions of strange humanoids along with ancient descriptions of beings descending from space heavily suggest that extraterrestrial visitors are far from a new phenomenon. And if they've been here since the beginning then almost assuredly these advanced races would have become the "gods" of myth and legend. This is the prevailing theory and the one I subscribe to. If it's true, then we can use the myths and writings to get an idea of what extraterrestrial life visiting this planet was like.
The Nature of the Gods
The ancients spoke all over of beings who descended to Earth from space. Sometimes in aerial craft that bellowed fire and smoke. These extraterrestrials are said to have created human beings from the earth and later given them civilization. So far, so benevolent. But while as our creators they were worshipped and considered gods, the writings say that they only created us to be slaves, servants, and worshippers of them. In this vein the ETs/gods do not appear to have had much regard for their creation's lives. Something that shows in no small detail by some of their actions. Cruelty and wholesale slaughter of humans by the gods is something shared in the mythologies and religions across the world. Vedic tales are littered with gods killing humans in bunches with weapons well beyond any ancient humans' capabilities. Sumerian stories state that the gods created wars between humans so they'd kill each other off, and at times the gods annihilated them in what almost seems like sport. The Biblical Yahweh on top of killing droves of people himself but would instruct his subjects to massacre entire cities. Every man, woman, and child.
Though the concept of gods gets more and more romanticized over time, the myths themselves don'tt actually present these beings as the transcendent deities we often think of today when we use the term "god". As any student of mythology knows, behind all the grandeur and majesty of the gods they were very human personalities at their core and full of character flaws just like us. They were prone to pettiness, bickering, violence, and every other emotion. Even the Judeo-Christian God who is taught as being perfect exhibits many human emotions to an almost inhuman degree. His jealousy is legendary and his anger was virtually limitless. He is so human in fact that he had to be counseled by his human subjects on more than one occasion because his emotions drove him to bad decision-making.(1)
It may be human nature to assume that an older, more advanced species would be "beyond" such acts of tormenting younger, more primitive races than themselves. But this assumption may be more naivety than reality. We are certainly not beyond mistreating species below ourselves. Look at how we treat animals on this planet and ask yourself if it's sound to presume ETs are automatically looking out for our best interest.
This is not to say that all extraterrestrials are malicious or hostile. It is likely that only a small percentage are and there are many reports of friendly, often wondrous encounters with extraterrestrials. But evidence suggests that while many ETs in general may be friendly, the ones that hide around on Earth most likely aren't. Phil Schneider, a lecturer on extraterrestrials, said he knew of 13 different types of ETs that visit Earth. Of those 13, he says, 11 are malevolent toward humans.
Conventional Theory
We looked earlier at some of the common theories as to why ETs don't reveal themselves. I don't believe either of them to be true, but before offering another suggestion as to why ETs don't reveal themselves let's first look at why I feel the other ones are off the mark.
1) Revealing themselves would cause mass hysteria. - It's difficult to say what reaction we'd have. Perhaps it would be hysteria, perhaps not. But I feel this theory puts the cart before the horse and misses a very important point. If these ETs are the beings spoken of in "mythologies" everywhere since the dawn of civilization then they were here even before us. And if they were here before us then their existence should already be established unless they deliberately made sure it wasn't. If not for this deception they'd be as normal and natural to us as the presence of kangaroos, aligators, or any other creature on the planet. Because we'd have known of them all our lives. Therefore any potential panic and hysteria from them revealing themselves could only come from them having hidden in the first place, not vice versa.
So it seems there must be some other reason for them concealing themselves than a fear of hysteria.
2) We are too unevolved and disappointing for them to associate with us. - This is a very self-depricating view and one that I don't think has much basis. Subscribers to this theory say that we on Earth are too violent, too weak-minded, etc. Perhaps we are. But if there's any truth to the tales and reports, then we are what they made us. And they are also all of these things themselves. So I rule this explanation out as both unlikely and hypocritical.
3) They don't want to interfere. - I guess the most obvious reason to doubt this is how often and how freely they do interfere. Has there ever been a period when ETs didn't do so? According to the ancient texts, in the earliest times of civilization these beings from the skies ruled the human cities and created the template of government. Today, the thousands of reports of ET contact indicate that interaction is still going strong. And for every time period in between there are accounts of these beings in one fashion or another. If they're trying not to interfere they seem to be doing a very poor job of it.
Some have further claimed that there's an intergalactic counsil of ET races that officially outlaws interference with humans. If that's true, consider then what that implies about the nature of the ETs that interact with us anyway.
The Disappearing Act
It is recorded in many cultures that in the beginning the gods interacted with and physically lived amongst humans on Earth. Human leadership did not exist as it was the gods themselves that ruled a land. In Egyptian legend this time was known as the Zep Tepi. The Graeco-Romans called it the Golden Age. Judeo-Christians know it as the time in the garden of Eden. These times directly under the gods' hand are described as exceedingly pleasant(in an "ignorance is bliss" sort of way?). However, at some point the gods eventually receded from human society. When and why this begins to happen may provide some clues as to why ETs remain hidden to this day.
The marker point of this separation appears to be the Great Flood(2) or Deluge, which is a near universal "myth". Significantly, the Deluge is caused by the gods themselves to wipe out all life on Earth. Why the gods do this vary slightly from version to version but the prevelant reasons are because Man has become to populous and/or perhaps more disturbingly, he's acquired too much knowledge to be properly handled. The gods interbreeding with humans is also a contributor to it in some versions.
After the flood there is always a small few survivors. From these survivors Man then repopulates himself. But this time around the gods have learned their lesson and do things differently. The supreme deity commands that the second crop of humans be groomed to be more obedient. The gods could see that the more knowledge humans themselves had the less control they had over the humans. To compound this "threat" humans also greatly outnumbered them. From this point on it seems that the gods' separation from humans grows sharper and sharper. From only allowing themselves to be seen by the priests to eventually abandoning their temples on Earth altogether.
Ancient Mesopotamia may provide us the blueprint for the new, post-Deluge method of control over humans by the ETs. I'm using Sumerian history because they are the oldest records we know of so theoretically are the closest to the truth. According to Sumerian history the "gods" themselves hand-selected who would be a land's king. After the Deluge the kings were no more and the people were left disorganized. So the remaining gods again granted kingship to humans of their choosing to rule for them. These kings were said to be working under the direct authority of the gods. In the Sumerian King List the kings before the Flood have fantastic reigns of tens of thousands of years. Immediately after the Flood the reigns are much shorter on the call of hundreds of years. Some believe that the pre-Deluge kings listed were actually the ruling extraterrestrials/"gods" of the Golden Age which is why their lifespans were so long. And that after the Deluge the first kings were only human-ET hybrids. Perhaps uncoincidently, this was the case with the historical king Gilgamesh. Who was said to be half-human, half-god. In any event, by creating a hierarchal system of command with their chosen monarch at the head, a single ET could effectively run an entire nation without needing to personally execute his plans.
This was not the complete end of ET/human interaction however. The gods still continued to interbreed with humans on occasion and shifted forms to blend in with humans when certain tasks needed to be accomplished(3). But no matter how secret you are, if you regularly meddle in the lives of a society you're going to leave signs of tampering. This little inevitability can be dealt with however. Especially by a high intelligence well versed in psychology.
Sight Unseen
We can dismiss the notion of ETs having visited our planet because if they had we'd have signs of it. Oh, there are thousands of signs? Well then why does hardly anyone believe in them? Maybe because they do. According to the 2001 Gallup polls 33% of people not only believe that extraterrestrials exist but that they've visited Earth. Yet those who believe in celestial visitation are labelled the "lunatic fringe". Yes, a whopping one third is dubbed the fringe. Of course, this one third doesn't know they compromise a third or even a fourth. They are made to believe that they are some deranged anomaly of the populace. The beauty of this is that if you can convince people that they're alone or crazy, whether they are or not they will do your job for you and stay silent or hidden. Stigmatize or attack people when they come forward with reports of extraterrestrial encounters, then turn around and cite lack of reports as evidence that it doesn't happen. It's simple psychology but it's very effective.
If you've followed the ET phenomenon for any length of time you've probably heard someone say something like:"If I saw an alien land in a spacecraft right in front of me I still wouldn't believe it. I'd probably think I'd gone crazy.". This I believe illustrates that the problem lies not in the evidence, but in the conditioning. We're told countless times that extraterrestrials coming to Earth doesn't happen, hasn't happened, or even can't happen. That extraterrestrials are strictly fiction or the realm of quacks. Psychologically speaking, this can be more powerful than minor things like signs or possibly even a direct encounter. Because of this I think when arguing for the existence of ETs the energy should be directed not at looking for even more evidence, of which there is already more than enough, but for addressing the conspiracy itself of keeping it hidden.
The extreme level of disbelief and stigma attached to extraterrestrials is very telling. Top scientists with degrees from the most prestigious schools in the world can have their reputations instantly destroyed for admitting a belief in ET contact. Thousands upon thousands of people report encounters with UFOs or extraterrestrials year after year only to be dismissed out of hand as deluded or insane. Mysterious flying objects seen by locals everywhere at the same time are written off as simultaneous mass hallucinations. Does this sound like a natural, objective level of resistance to the idea of ETs? I would say no. To not believe that ETs have visited Earth would be one thing. To reflexively dismiss the idea despite the evidence is another. That is a sign of programming. It should come as no surprise then that it was official government policy to ridicule people who'd seen UFOs as lunatics even though the agencies knew that they weren't(4). This tactic is used not because the governments are stupid or simple, it's used because it works.
While frustrated ET enthusiasts and researchers bang their heads against the wall wishing futily for disclosure, I think the real culprit goes unseen. If the extraterrestrials have historically been controlling world events directly or indirectly, then it's in their best interest to not be revealed. And if they control the media and the highest levels of government, chances are that they won't be revealed through any "official" channels anytime soon no matter how much evidence arises. So if you're awaiting footage of a spacecraft landing on the White House lawn I think you've misunderstood the situation. If a spacecraft did land on the White House lawn you'd probably never even hear about it. And if you did it would probably be followed up with so much disinformation that you'd no longer believe it.
Their are billions of us on this planet. The math suggests that a malevolent extraterrestrial's only chance for power is to be invisible. And so, for all the sightings, all the texts, and all the personal encounters, I suspect that extraterrestrials will never willingly reveal themselves to us again at this point in our advancement. As it would mean the end of their control. So, we don't believe in them. They'll make sure of that. It's one of the oldest plays in the book.
"The Greatest trick the Devil ever pulled, was convincing the world that he didn't exist."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes
1. see the Biblical story of Exodus 32:9-14 for one example
2. the Book of Enoch and the Greek myth of Creation give accounts of deities being removed from the human populace at the time of the Deluge.
3. see the Egyptian myth of Isis' search for Osiris, the Greek myth of Baucis and Philemon, and the Biblical story of Genesis ch. 18 & 19 for a few of the many examples of deities taking human form
4. ex. Project Grudge
Posted by: Angel on Saturday, November 18, 2006 @ 10:55:01 CST
Great article, very lucid, and kudos on the publication. The conclusion seems reasonable on one level, though I disagree with it, as it would be just too sad to accept (I think you've heard my views on the subject before.) But you're absolutely right about the social conditioning, it's simply amazing how that works.
I still say though, that the latest "separation" of the ET's from our lives occured not after the Flood, circa 10,000 BC, but much later, around 600 BC. There is ample evidence both from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia that three thousand years ago the "gods" still walked the Earth in nearly the same numbers as before.
My best,
Sol
(And congrats on your promotion to "Rex" (:-) )
Re: Why Are Aliens So Shy? (Score: 1) by Momma on Sunday, November 19, 2006 @ 08:17:15 CST (User Info | Send a Message)
Great article Sub and so well written...
Thoroughly enjoyed it....Thankyou.
Re: Why Are Aliens So Shy? (Score: 1) by FIECPVIF on Saturday, August 18, 2007 @ 20:13:38 CDT (User Info | Send a Message)
because we know u all humans are closed minded. the goverment won't allow us to land. and the presdent will say. there is an alien invastion if we come out of the 4th demention like u are saying look around why things are.
Re: Why Are Aliens So Shy? (Score: 1) by FIECPVIF on Saturday, August 18, 2007 @ 20:13:51 CDT (User Info | Send a Message)
because we know u all humans are closed minded. the goverment won't allow us to land. and the presdent will say. there is an alien invastion if we come out of the 4th demention like u are saying look around why things are.
Resources
Audio/Visual
Discussion & Chat
Information
Keep Up To Date
Fun & Games
Submitting
Spread The Word
Rules & Help
Personal
Home
Forums
Leaves of Wisdom
Daily News
