When Will UFO Disclosure Happen?
By Dr. Greg Little
The term “disclosure” has become so identified with UFOs and a set of beliefs associated with the so-called “extraterrestrial hypothesis” that it is almost unnecessary to add the “UFO” to the title. Over the decades since the modern era of UFOs emerged in 1947 the idea that we (meaning we the uninformed public) are sort of being prepared for an imminent alien visitation has been put forth by the “UFOs as nuts-and-bolts” proponents. The basic theme of the disclosure proponents has morphed into the idea of “exopolitics,” which is a slightly more expansive belief system but also relies on the belief that alien visitations have happened routinely and that more open visitations are going to occur. The idea of disclosure assumes that at some point we, the unknowing masses, will be officially notified in some sort of formal, dramatic way.
Indeed, there have been numerous movies, television shows and series, books and articles, and statements from politicians since 1947 that makes the proponents believe that there is a concerted effort to prepare us for this disclosure event. When “they” (whoever “they” are) think we are ready, or perhaps when the aliens tell them to tell us, “they” will openly announce what amounts to this: That UFOs have been visiting the Earth for thousands of years; that the aliens are flying in highly technologically advanced craft; that the Roswell crash and a lot of other UFO crashes really happened; that every religious idea, ancient rituals, and all significant ancient building structures came from the alien visitations; that every technological advance made by humans came from scientists back-engineering crashed UFOs; that the UFOs are still visiting here; that the alien visitors have been in contact with the world’s leaders; that the aliens have been conducting experiments on abducted humans and animals; that there are hybrids and aliens moving among us. Modern governments and the military complex have had knowledge of all of these visitations and have kept it a secret. But they have released bits and pieces of information to both confuse and prepare us. The idea now incorporates even more bizarre conspiracy theories such as the assertion that John Kennedy was assassinated because he was about to reveal this secret knowledge to the public. A more recent idea is that President Obama spent some time on Mars during a government project. And some assert that the human race is itself the experiment of alien races. The “disclosure” and “exopolitics” ideas are certainly so-closely related that it is a meaningless endeavor to try to distinguish between them. Within the internet-active field of ufology there is a contentious, ongoing battle between various individuals and groups that claim a type of ownership over who founded the fields. To me it’s like arguing who first claimed that the earth is hollow and that a Nazi base is still there. Don’t laugh there are quite a few people who believe this. In my 1984 book “The Archetype Experience” I called this the “hollow head” theory for obvious reasons.
Exopolitics and disclosure are based on a series of beliefs that are accepted as obvious fact by their proponents. They always argue that if their evidence was taken to court they would win. In “Grand Illusions” (1994) I wrote: “In a real court of law, there is another side that gets to argue its case, too.” In brief, every argument put forth by the exopolitics proponents has strong counterarguments. Listening to one side in an argument isn’t an argument. But my point here isn’t to specifically counter any of the “facts” put forth by the exopolitical proponents. I know that UFOs do exist; I just don’t see the facts as the nuts-and-bolts people do. As Carl Jung wrote in 1959 about UFOs, “something is seen, one doesn’t know what.” So what people then do is apply (project) their personal beliefs and hopes, wishes, and dreams onto the unknown “thing” being observed. Their personal characteristics and what are called “cultural expectations” act as a filtering system allowing them to literally project their own beliefs onto the observation. This type of psychological process is especially powerful and active when the thing being observed is highly strange and unusual. In brief, we try to make sense of something so strange and unknown but we use what we already believe to make it understandable to us. It boils down to this: the UFO field is mired in conflicting beliefs with individuals so trapped by their own belief systems that they simply can’t and won’t see the truth. And of course, these brief comments won’t change anyone’s ideas, but the basics are simple:
Exopolitics claims that there are many “whistleblowers” who tell us that UFOs are alien craft. But there are more people who were at the same place as the “whistleblowers” who say quite different things about the event supposedly being exposed. Many people simply do not understand that a lot of people hoax things and blatantly lie. The reasons for this have been well researched in psychology. Just go to a court and sit for a day and listen. You’ll hear a lot of lies. And memory can be manipulated and even created by others who have a particular agenda.
Exopolitics claims that legitimate UFOs (those not explained as something else) are extraterrestrial craft. But the actual reality is that something is seen but one doesn’t know what. There are a lot of witnesses to UFO events who have seen something strange, but there is not one shred of evidence that what they have seen is a craft from another world.
Exopolitics claims that UFO abductions show that humans are being taken by a host of different types of aliens, with the greys the most frequent in most areas except the UK. While I accept and know that abductions do occur, the reality is that there is not a single shred of evidence that abductions are performed by extraterrestrials. Abduction experiences do happen, and they are so strange that many people just accept that they are caused by aliens. The psychological component of such experiences is incomprehensible to many people, so they assume that they must be cause by extraterrestrial entities.
Finally, exopolitics tells us we’ll all know the truth soon; that disclosure is just around the corner.
One argument that gets thrown at me all the time is how can I say there is no life elsewhere in the universe? The question is irrelevant and ridiculous, but I’ll answer it. The answer is that I’m reasonably certain the universe is teeming with life. I just see no evidence that any of that alien life is visiting earth. I do think it is very possible that in ancient times earth was visited by some form of extraterrestrial beings. But I don’t know for sure. It’s an interesting idea that I want to believe in, I just don’t know. But the most important thing that I want to say relates to the idea of imminent disclosure.
I have been in the UFO field since the late 1970s and was very active in the field from about 1982 to 2000. The idea of disclosure has been around longer that I can recall. UFO conferences in the 1970s and 1980s advertised that incredible disclosures would take place at their conference and only the attendees would hear them. Secret documents would be released that would prove, once and forever, that UFOs are from other worlds. Such promises were made about countless conferences and they continue to be made to this day. At one conference that advertised this, a speaker announced that Flight 19, the lost Bermuda Triangle flight, had been found. It was found on the moon, and the proof was a picture from a tabloid. Another such disclosure was that a statue of Elvis had been found on Mars and the statue had a recording of Elvis singing, “I’m all shook up.”
The answer to the idea of disclosure came to me in 1993 from Georgie Geyer, a world-renown journalist who interviewed Castro, Sadat, Gadhafi and many others. At a Jesuit college, I heard Geyer give a speech wherein she spoke about world conditions and how many people thought that the world’s problems were some day soon going to be resolved. Guyer related, “It won’t come out. It won’t end. It’s just going to keep going, and keep evolving.” And so it has.
The facts are that the enigma underlying UFOs won’t “come out,” be disclosed, and be completely resolved. This is because the reality underlying the UFO enigma is not going to be a satisfactory conclusion to the exopolitics proponents. People who believe in the extraterrestrial hypothesis will never accept any explanation other than the one they already believe—that they are ETs in physical craft. That’s why “disclosure” will never, ever occur. The UFO phenomenon is going to keep going and going and evolving and adapting to what people believe and expect. The field of ufology will continue its bickering and petty threats. As long as people see the UFO phenomenon as a mechanical intervention by extraterrestrial beings, it will remain an elusive, ever-changing enigma. We will not solve the mystery, because ufologists are chasing shadows created by their own beliefs. And that’s a shame.
