Vol 4: 1 (March 2012)

On the Acceptance of Exopolitics

Captain (Ret’d) D.J. Ballinger, MA, Dipl. Exopolitics, CD, plsc

(This article is an excerpt from a substantial research project originally submitted to the Exopolitics Institute, Hawaii, July, 2011)

Abstract

Introduction

This article presents a brief analysis of the unidentified flying object (UFO) [1] phenomenon and the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) [2] within the field of exopolitics, with conclusions justifying in-depth exopolitical research by academics and scientists.

The term exopolitics is defined as the study of the key political actors, institutions and processes associated with the UFO phenomenon and the ETH. [3] As a relatively new field within the social, scientific and political domains of study, exopolitics serves to bring together previously disparate studies of phenomena under one discipline. Around the world the UFO phenomenon, along with various permutations of the ETH, is widely accepted by the general population. Public opinion polls in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have consistently reported that increasing numbers of people have sighted UFOs and believe that their government is hiding information. [4] In France, high ranking military officers and scientists collaborated in a 1999 report concluding that UFOs were a credible phenomenon and that the United States government was covering up this information. Privately funded civilian organizations have even taken the extraordinary steps of lobbying the United States government through the media to release information on UFOs and the ETH. [5]

Exopolitics is here to stay as the discipline of choice for understanding the public policy implications of extraterrestrial life. Exopolitics as a new branch of knowledge will revolutionize academic studies and the world as we know it. [6]

- Dr. Michael E. Salla [7]

With a steady rise in UFO sightings, and as more political and scientific icons continue to come forth to publicly acknowledge their knowledge and desire for official release of ufological and extraterrestrial information in what has become known as the disclosure process, the need to study these phenomena at academic and higher learning institutions increases. The widespread public revelation by government organizations of UFO and extraterrestrial interaction with our societies would have profound implications from human security, socio-political, and technological perspectives. Yet in spite of the existing evidence, testimony of credible witnesses, and increasing public interest, the study of UFOs and the ETH remains relegated by academia under the disparaging title of pseudoscience, deemed unworthy of serious academic investigation by higher learning institutions.

The arguments against studying ufology and the ETH offered by skeptical academics and scientists are varied, if not creative. However, from a rational reasoning perspective, they can be shown as non-sequiturial. There exists today sufficient evidence and social interest to introduce and establish exopolitics as a viable, credible, and necessary discipline worthy of study at higher learning institutions around the world.

I - The Emergence of Exopolitics as a Field of Study

The UFO issue has long been shrouded in mystery, confusion, secrecy, disinformation, and ridicule. Its natural subset – that of the ETH – has been the weak sister of this issue, subjected to even more derision from those without personal experiences. Yet, when using examples of human evolution and disparities of technology within the last century, a historical parallel can be utilized in showing a common linkage. The earliest civilian and military transoceanic aviators no doubt projected noisy images of god-like flying apparitions in the sky in remote areas of the world. Aboriginal tribes in Southeast Asia or Central Africa probably asked the same questions that were posed by the earliest ufologists; what is that object in the sky? After establishing the fact, through repeated sightings, that those early human flying contraptions were indeed real machines and not figments of the imagination or the results of induced psychoses or mass hallucinations, the next question posed was probably focussed on understanding the origin, biology, and motivations of the occupants of the aerial machines. In today’s society we still struggle with two groups of thought – those who cannot (or will not) accept the fact that UFOs are real and exist in our current time and space, and those who accept the UFO reality and are now asking the next logical question – who or what is the intelligence behind these phenomena?

(E)xopolitics will be the discipline of choice for those desiring to study public policy issues associated with extraterrestrial life, since it also fulfills a functional need. The functional need is to understand how extraterrestrial life impacts on public policy issues, and to professionally train individuals to deal with these. Exopolitics will be first established in departments of political science as a legitimate sub-field, as is currently the case with ‘international politics’, ‘foreign policy’, ‘comparative politics’, ‘political economy’, etc., in many political science departments. [8]

- Dr. Michael Salla

Establishing the reality of UFOs has been the Achilles’ heel of modern scientists and academics. Their basic argument for establishing proof of UFOs lies in the requirement for tangible, physical evidence and a means of controlled reproduction that is the foundation of all scientific methodologies. However, proof does exist. It has existed in recorded format for over half a century, but through various means, modern society and academia have been conditioned to ignore the facts at hand. Some researchers are quick to clarify that proof of UFOs does not necessarily define the intelligence behind these phenomena; it simply indicates the existence of objects that are neither man-made nor naturally occurring phenomena. For example, Dr. John Alexander [9] (2010 p.1) stated that “with no prevarication or qualification of terms, there are physical objects of unknown origin that do transit our universe…determining what these object are, let alone the question of origin, is another matter.”

It would appear that entry into the (UFO research) field is a slow process for seasoned scientists. Because they serve their graduate student apprenticeships learning how to do non-revolutionary research few scientists, possibly none, are really out to shift paradigms until some critical event in their lives. [10]

- Dr. Paul E. McCarthy

The intelligence behind UFOs can be offered through the ETH. But for the skeptics of the UFO issue, accepting that evidence of UFOs is an undeniable reality presents a one-way gateway to changing their long-held paradigms. Ignoring the facts will not make the UFO issue go away, nor can ignorance of the recorded evidence render invalid the concept of the ETH. Discarding evidence that disrupts our current framework of scientific understanding is unscientific and intellectually dishonest from both personal and professional perspectives.

II - The UFO Problem

Evidence

McDonald (1968) collated and analysed a significant number of credible UFO observations that built a solid foundation of empirical evidence towards establishing the existence of UFOs. His conclusion that the ETH is a valid hypothesis was not then, and is not now, a singular opinion.  

I wish to emphasize that my own study of the UFO problem has convinced me that we must rapidly escalate serious scientific attention to this extraordinarily intriguing puzzle…I am one of those who lean strongly towards the extraterrestrial hypothesis. I arrived at that point by a process of elimination of other alternative hypotheses, not by arguments based on what I would call "irrefutable proof." I am convinced that the recurrent observations by reliable citizens here and abroad over the past twenty years cannot be brushed aside as nonsense, but rather need to be taken extremely seriously as evidence that some phenomenon is going on which we simply do not understand…what is urgently needed is a far more vigorous scientific investigation of the full spectrum of UFO phenomena, and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics could perform a very significant service by taking steps aimed in that direction. [11]

- Dr. James E. McDonald

The credible cases that stand out as evidence of UFO existence have all been clearly documented and can be found in numerous references, books, and scientific journals. McDonald, Sturrock, and Velasco are but a few of the many esteemed scientists who have presented the best UFO cases as examples of evidence of their existence. The cases cited involved military and civilian aircraft, recorded radar signatures, video recordings, and physical trace evidence. Further analysis of these cases may contribute towards the development of hypotheses of the intelligence behind these unidentified phenomena, which leads to the second half of the exopolitical equation; establishment of the ETH.

Only a pseudo-scientific anti-Ufologist could ignore the myriad of detailed investigations of important sightings that have been published. An excellent sampling of these is included in the US Government publication “Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects,” July 29, 1968, “Hearings by the House Committee on Science and Astronautics.” The 246 page volume includes papers by 12 scientists covering a wide range of backgrounds. The best paper is by Dr. James E. McDonald, which covers 41 cases. The famous RB-47 case involves detailed testimony from a well trained military crew of 7 flying a very sophisticated USAF RB-47 aircraft whose encounter with a UFO lasted almost an hour and was visually observed and by radar on the ground as well. This is absolutely not a detached incident and certainly not an anecdote. Of course the pseudo-scientific anti-Ufologists ignore it. [12]

- Nuclear Physicist Stanton Friedman, MSc

Since the 1968 Hearings by the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, there have been several high profile cases of UFO sightings that only bring to bear more credible witnesses and evidence of UFO existence (e.g. the 1980 Rendelsham Forest case, [13] and the 2007 Channel Islands UFO sighting [14] ) involving military and civilian aircraft and personnel. Those who take the time to thoroughly read the cases studies of credible UFO sightings and carefully analyze the evidence in conjunction with witness testimony invariably come to conclusions that meet the threshold of criteria expected in a western court of law.

In my judgment there are many reports of UFOs that meet the above criteria quite well - better, indeed, than many court cases which a judge and jury accept. [15]

- Dr. Robert L. Hall, Professor and Head, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois

 The COMETA Report represented a quantum leap not just in its public presentation of nationally and internationally reported data on UFO sightings, but also in the boldness and clarity of its conclusions. The COMETA Report committee consisted of scientists, military and police officers, and academics at the height of their careers, and their judgement as to the veracity of the cases studied showed that they not only were able to discern unexplained UFO phenomena from known phenomena, but that they had the courage in the face of impending ridicule to do so.

One of the least scientific and most often claimed aspects of UFO sightings is that the only reason sightings can’t be explained is that there isn’t enough data. For more than 50 years this false, inaccurate, unsubstantiated claim has been repeated over and over again. [16]

                        - Nuclear Physicist Stanton Friedman, MSc

Any statements by scientists or academics that there is simply not enough credible evidence to engage in serious study of UFOs are inaccurate. The evidence is available, is known to government officials, and can be accessed by scientists and academics for further study should they so choose. So, what is stopping the exploration of ufology? The evidence of existence is available, yet many still will not accept it.

Truth

Sturrock (1987) clearly laid out his opinions on the UFO-skeptical Condon Report, discussing the secretive motivations of the United States government, questioning the academic integrity of Condon’s conclusions, inferring collusion with the Central Intelligence Agency in suppressing information of UFOs, and presenting his case explaining reasons behind the decades of intellectual and academic disparagement of the UFO issue.

I think we will all be better off if and when the American government decides to tell the public the truth about UFOs. The truth being, first of all, that they exist, that they are NOT merely classified military projects, or odd weather phenomenon. That they are technology, and they are not OUR technology. [17]

          - Historian Richard M. Dolan, MA [18]

The COMETA Report was equally as bold in their conclusions, accusing the United States government of disinformation in the Roswell incident. But have we not surpassed this dated paradigm of government secrecy in the guise of national security? With the end of the Cold War, international terrorism is the new caveat for suppression of information in protecting the general populace. A need-to-know policy on sensitive government information has been the dictum of all militaries since Chinese general and military strategist Sun Zsu wrote his treatise The Art of War over 2,500 years ago. However, academic integrity in the search for scientific truths should not be co-opted or suppressed in the rush to ostensibly protect citizens from the unknown. Truth is the essence of scientific discovery, and the understanding of human nature and technologies cannot remain the purview of a nation-state solely towards its military application in exerting economic influence. The degradation of civil liberties, privacy, and even public technological evolution, under the name of national security, is an unwanted by-product in societies that impose restrictive secrecy upon their citizens. [19] Secrecy of this nature, without proper understanding or explanation, should be an affront to the intellectual integrity of science and academia. [20]  

A 1977 poll of American astronomers, published in JSE (Journal of Scientific Exploration), showed the following. Out of 2611 questionnaires 1356 were returned. In response to whether the UFO problem deserved further study the replies were: 23% certainly, 30% probably, 27% percent possibly, 17% probably not, 3% certainly not. Interestingly, there was a positive correlation between the amount of reading done on the subject and the opinion that further study was in order. [21]

- Dr. Bernhard Haisch, Astrophysicist [22]

From a legal perspective, truth gives way to evidence. In the UFO issue, both are equally valid concepts, where mounting evidence is gaining critical mass forcing truth to come to the forefront as the general population, and those honest brokers in the scientific and academic community, share common interests.

Fear

The will to accept the existence of UFOs is based upon various sociological factors. The politics of academia and its treatment of ufology were intimately explored in Dr. Paul McCarthy’s PhD dissertation Politicking and the Paradigm Shifting: James E. McDonald and the UFO Case Study, and are not covered in this paper. However, the basic pre-dispositions or paradigms that may preclude one from researching the UFO issue have strong components within human emotion.

At this point in time it is my belief that the person who does not investigate cases and has not had an alleged UFO sighting is taking a strong emotional position on whatever side of the issue he stands. [23]

                        - Dr. Paul E. McCarthy

Fear of ridicule, loss of academic standing and / or research funding, and potential ostracization in the social and professional community are all significant barriers to those wishing to pursue the study of UFOs and the ETH. But these factors need not be the overriding considerations for in-depth investigation of the subject. For the interested scientist or academic, fear of not belonging to the skeptical in-group is not a valid reason for dismissing the evidence of UFOs and commencing serious efforts in studying the phenomenon.

(U)fology is not in anyone's curriculum of training. No one knows anything of substance about ufology who hasn't made a significant personal effort to do so. [24]

- Dr. Michael D. Swords, Professor emeritus, Environmental Studies, Western Michigan University

Wendt and Duvall opine that perhaps the fear of discovering the true meaning of UFOs is in itself daunting enough for the scientific world. Such that we discover not only are we not alone, but possibly not even the dominant species within our sphere of influence, is disconcerting to those whose lifelong studies have conditioned them into a safe and secure paradigm of physical and intellectual supremacy. Asking a question no one wants to ask, and finding out the answer is indeed not what most wanted to hear, contributes strong emotional foundations for ignoring the UFO question for those living in a fear-based construct. But scientists and academics are not trained to base their research on personal bias or emotion. They practice their profession through a strict code of integrity and honesty that precludes ignorance of the possible. In fact, it is the impossible that they seek to prove or disprove towards the greater knowledge of our societies.

Many UFO researchers have acted as scientists when the cases allowed them the opportunity. Just because they cannot hold up an alien in their hand (or a leprechaun, psychic apport, or novel plasma ball) for everyone's inspection doesn't disqualify them. If so, please kick out of the Academy all SETIans, String Theorists, Dark Energiers, or Black Holers, Asteroid Extinctors, or Psychologists, for that matter. In ufology, sometimes, it is Science. [25]

- Michael D. Swords, Professor emeritus, Environmental Studies, Western Michigan University

Courage

Our decisions to investigate phenomena in the social or physical sciences should not be based upon the acceptance of our in-groups. On the contrary, we should engage those subjects that are controversial because they do not conform to our paradigms. Remaining within the constructs of known science may guarantee consistent, long-term funding or social acceptance (with resultant ego-gratification), but does not necessarily advance, in the most efficient means, our understandings of humanity and our inevitable evolutionary paths. Engaging in controversial issues is how mankind has previously made significant advances in engineering, transportation, and aerospace.

 The best known American astronomer of the 19th Century, Dr. Simon Newcomb (1835-1909), had written: “The demonstration that no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery, and known forms of force can be united in a practical machine by which man shall fly long distances through the air, seems to this writer as complete as it is possible for the demonstration of any physical fact to be.” He was so prominent and highly respected that his funeral was attended by numerous dignitaries including the President of the United States; his expertise involved the making of accurate determinations of the positions of the heavenly bodies and mathematical procedures for using that data for navigation and related problems. None of this has anything to do with flight. The first sustained powered flight (being) the Wright brothers took place only two months later. They, and others, had made numerous measurements determining the influence of various factors on lift and drag. [26]

- Nuclear Physicist Stanton Friedman, MSc

Failure to undertake research on UFOs is similar to the position taken by our ancestors when confronted with problems that defied existing knowledge and understanding. If we do not understand something, it is not acceptable to simply dismiss the issue and set standards of acceptance created by the in-group itself. This is insular thinking, not critical thinking, and retards the advancement of discoveries of, for example, new technologies.

It is quite strange that while our best modern physics and astrophysics theories thus predict that we should be experiencing extraterrestrial visitation, any possible evidence of such in the form of a subset of UFO reports is ignored or ridiculed. [27]

- Dr. Bernard Haisch, Astrophysicist

The courage to explore the unknown should not be limited to those who are unafraid to be wrong. No test pilot ever confessed to supreme confidence in the airworthiness of their aircraft (only to their ability to fly it).  McDonald and his scientific colleagues were courageous in that they presented their views in public at the highest levels of a then-skeptical (if not coerced) government. Sturrock garnered critical input from independent researchers and came to similar conclusions on the evidence of UFOs and the need to continue research on this issue. The COMETA Report commission members risked their careers by speaking out in public on their findings on not only the existence of UFOs, but their acceptance of the ETH. Interestingly, all these reports remain resolute in their findings in the face of muted, if not silent, criticism from a dwindling number of skeptics.

In their 2008 paper Sovereignty and the UFO, Wendt and Duvall journeyed into the spectrum of critical theory.

(T)aking UFOs seriously would certainly embody the spirit of self-criticism that

infuses liberal governmentality and academia in particular, and it would, thereby, foster critical theory. And indeed, if academics’ first responsibility is to tell the truth, then the truth is that after sixty years of modern UFOs, human beings still have no idea what they are, and are not even trying to find out. That should surprise and disturb us all, and cast doubt on the structure of rule that requires and sustains it. [28]

- Dr. Alex Wendt and Dr. Raymond Duvall

The fact that we are an evolving species, barely at the behavioural cusp of our foray into technology and science, should precipitate our acceptance of things unknown with a view to further research. The courage to explore enabled us to populate unknown lands, and the courage to perform action research led us to break the bonds of gravity in escaping our planet. UFOs represent a potential quantum leap of knowledge in our understanding of all our sciences. If we do not have the courage to undertake significant research on such a potentially species-changing issue, then perhaps we need to re-assess our current scientific and academic paradigms.

 For all intents and purposes, UFO research is forbidden in academia. Inside academia, there is nearly no one – at most a handful of people – who know something about this topic, and who are qualified to write about it. And you know how academia works: it’s an intellectual bureaucracy, and an established hierarchy. If you’re a young grad student with an interest in this topic, there is no way you can just break into it. You have to find someone to supervise your research and judge your dissertation. How on earth are you going to do that? Who among the faculty would be qualified to do it? In the ultra-conservative environment that characterizes the life of most professors, a social world rigidly bound by the quest for tenure (where you’d better keep your nose clean) and the need to publish, no matter how irrelevant or unnecessary one’s contribution may be, where faculty rivalries can make or break a person’s career, how is a young graduate student going to find five professors in his or her university to analyze a dissertation on ... UFOs? And who will be the brave soul to be the advisor to such a student? And what student would be so foolhardy to dive in? [29]

            - Historian Richard M. Dolan, MA

The courage to explore new areas of scientific study has been a characteristic of all great scientists and academics. Revolutionary discoveries are not made from within the safe limitations of known and accepted paradigms. Courage to investigate the existing evidence and ask dangerous questions that push the boundaries of modern scientific constructs is necessary if we are to solve the challenging issues presented by UFOs and the ETH. Public confidence in academic and scientific institutions rests with the understanding that research is being carried out in the interests of the betterment of the human species and all living organisms within our biosphere. Yet, courage should perhaps not necessarily be a requirement to study UFOs; if we have already established their existence through evidence, the question of the intelligence behind UFOs must surely pose a significant issue related to the continued evolution of humankind. Courage should not drive intellectual curiosity or the quest for answers to difficult questions. Given the necessity to change the skeptical paradigm surrounding UFOs towards acceptance and integration of this knowledge, understanding the origin and intelligence of UFOs is where our scientific and academic interests should now be focused. 

III - The Extraterrestrial Hypothesis

A Question of Origin

Exopolitics is the logical conclusion to the equation of recognizing the existence of UFOs. Who or what is the intelligence behind these phenomena? Humans no longer debate the possibility of heavier-than-air vehicles. We no longer debate the practicability of rotary-winged hovering machines. We no longer debate the physical limitations of aircraft to exceed the speed of sound. We no longer debate the aerodynamic properties of spacecraft required to achieve orbital velocity around Earth. Today, when we see an aircraft flying overhead, or a cluster of satellites passing under a star-filled sky, our questions are not based in existential theory – they are based on origin, typology, and purpose. We understand that these man-made flying machines exist, and we logically ask questions that establish not just physical characteristics such as size, weight, velocity, and capacity, but those of origin, purpose, and potentiality.

I accept the hypothesis that the earth is being surveyed by spacecraft which are controlled by representatives of an alien civilization or civilizations. [30]

- Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Wyoming

Aboriginals in remote locations on Earth no longer question the existence of commercial airliners. While many have never flown in an aircraft, understand the mechanics of jet turbine engines or advanced aerodynamics, or met face-to-face with an airline pilot, they have nevertheless collectively graduated to pondering the origins and destinations of the metal tubes passing overhead on a daily basis. To question the existence of man-made objects in the sky would be ignoring the facts of aviation transportation available to most humans in today’s internet world. We have been at a similar stage with respect to UFO evidence for many years, and it is time to move forward.

The existence of UFOs has been accepted by astronauts, [31] military pilots [32] and missile launch officers, [33] law enforcement officials, [34] astronomers, [35] meteorologists, [36] physicists, [37] psychologists, [38] medical doctors, [39] politicians [40] and others whose profession accords them significant credence within their communities. World leaders have recorded their sightings with UFOs, and have likely asked the question; ‘who are they, where did they come from, and why are they here?’ [41]

 Political and scientific icons such as Canadian ex-Minister of National Defence and Deputy Prime Minister the Right Honourable Paul Hellyer, and Apollo 14 astronaut Captain Edgar Mitchell, have come forth to acknowledge their desire for the release of ufological and extraterrestrial information in what has become known as the disclosure process. [42]

                        - Nuclear Physicist Stanton Friedman, MSc

The COMETA Report was quite clear in stating that the ETH cannot be ruled out as a viable solution behind the intelligence of UFOs (p. 55). If UFOs are not man-made, and cannot be accounted for through known atmospheric or other physical phenomena, then logic dictates that we must develop hypothetical solutions to explain their origins. The COMETA Report delineated the ETH as one that merits further research, based upon the existing evidence. Sturrock (1997, p. 227) listed “a technological device not of terrestrial origin” as one of his hypotheses in a survey of members of the American Astronomical Society, thus validating the possibility of an extraterrestrial origin of UFOs.  McDonald (1968, p.4) included “extraterrestrial devices of some surveillance nature” as possible solutions to the UFO issue, and was “one of those who lean strongly towards the extraterrestrial hypothesis.”

I have concluded that the earth is being visited by intelligently controlled vehicles whose origin is extraterrestrial. [43]

            - Nuclear Physicist Stanton Friedman, MSc

Social Revolutions

From an investigatory standpoint, accepting the ETH, and with it its compulsory dedicated and comprehensive public research, introduces the possibility that a) it will be proven correct, or b) it will be proven incorrect. Notwithstanding a third option of inconclusivity (which leaves us at our present knowledge status quo), both option a) and option b) are understandably cause for apprehension in the scientific community. Should an in-depth investigation into UFOs lead to incontrovertible evidence of extraterrestrials, thereby validating the ETH, our current understanding of human history, religion, and evolution would be irreversibly altered.

(I)t appears that techniques now exist that could provide the basis for a psychologically oriented, but genuinely scientific investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena, whatever their nature may ultimately prove to be. [44]

            - Dr. Roger N. Shepard, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

Knowing that we are not alone and that we have been subjected to visitation by non-human species would necessitate a complete overhaul of our perceptions of mankind as the dominant species on Earth, and cause us to re-evaluate our priorities in life. As demonstrated by American Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 Mercury Theatre radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, [45] the validation of the ETH may cause panic amongst the human race, fearing possible influence, aggression, or invasion by extraterrestrials. Yet, the human race has proven resilient enough to survive two World Wars and hundreds of internecine conflicts over the past century. Within the past four hundred years we have evolved from a relatively primitive collective of societies bound by geography within the confines of our respective land masses, into a global community currently exploring the outer edges of our solar system. This exponential increase in collective intelligence, adaptation and exploration is represented through technological advances that belie our continually evolving capacities. Yet, the UFO and ETH issues remain relatively ignored by mainstream science and academia, even though the potential discoveries from these topics are by far the most potentially explosive and paradigm-shifting of our recorded history. 

The next world war, if there is one, will be a war between civilizations. [46]

            - Dr. Samuel Huntington, 1992

 Based upon his controversial 1992 lecture, American political scientist Samuel Huntington’s 1993 seminal article Clash of Civilizations? posited that cultural and religious identities would be the source of the next major war on Earth. However, it is also conceivable that the acceptance of UFOs and the ETH could incite the next major global revolution, with a scope and intensity not seen since World War II. The potential of extraterrestrial disclosure, if not full scale intervention by various types of extraterrestrial species, and the possibilities for human extinction, [47] evolution, or even transcendance [48] to another dimension in the near future presents itself as a profound concept.

There are many socioeconomic perils associated with the acceptance of the UFO and extraterrestrial reality within our cultures. Wars may be fought and societies wiped out through the accelerated divergence or dissipation of socioeconomic constructs indelibly altered by extraterrestrial technology or interaction with Earth. It is becoming readily apparent through the manisfestation of social unrest throughout the world (e.g. the 2011 Arab Spring [49] ) that we must evolve beyond the need to exert economic policy via the application of military or police force, and shift from the concept of hard power towards soft power, [50] and eventually to exclusive diplomacy and cooperation in order to realize that a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources is the only conceiveable way to propagate our species in a non-violent (as opposed to self-destructive) path. [51]

…open scientific research on the subject is needed with special attention paid to high quality UFO reports exhibiting apparent indications that ET intelligence and strategy are involved. [52]

- Dr. J. Deardorff, Dr. B. Haisch, Dr. B. Maccabee and Dr. H.E. Puthoff

Based upon our own human history it is likely that with acceptance and integration of the UFO reality and the ETH, humans would require a significant social shift towards compassion, altruism, and service to others attitude. If we do not make this shift, and continue to carry and exercise our predisposition for violence in solving our conflicts to other worlds and races, this would no doubt present itself as unacceptable for observing Type I, II, or III extraterrestrial civilizations [53] intently following the progression of human evolution. Alternatively, extraterrestrial action may need to be taken pre-emptively in order to either halt the expansion of human colonization with its accompanying hostile tendencies, or intervene in accelerating human transformation towards a more altruistic motivation in interacting with their fellow, and other, species.

The acceptance of UFOs and the ETH at a political and military level will necessarily change the dynamic of our societies and may give rise to the machinations of rogue elements in the world utilizing aggressive behaviour motivated through religious, social, cultural, or racial ideologies, far beyond the limited constructs of Huntington’s premise. The UFO and ETH issue, accepted on a public, global scale, would no doubt complicate the human evolutionary path; its ramifications and permutations merit intense study by scientists and academics from an interdisciplinary perspective.

New Scientific Discoveries

The human species has reached a point where our own natural resources cannot support us for much longer at our present rates of consumption. The study of UFOs and the ETH may contribute to new technologies that could reduce or eliminate human dependency on the limited supply of Earth’s fossil fuels. [54] For example, speculation that zero point energy [55] may be behind UFO phenomena is grounds in itself of further research.  Zero point energy is generally accepted as the lowest possible energy a quantum mechanical physical system may possess, and is the energy of its ground state. The United States Army [56] and National Aeronautics and Space Administration [57] are studying zero point energy for its global applications through various military and space-based energy sources. [58]

What role will highly advanced extraterrestrials play in our future? In particular, what forms of contact will occur, when, and with what impact on us? We cannot answer these questions with complete confidence, nor with a wealth of accurate detail. We can, however, gain major insights through thoughtful, disciplined inquiry into such questions. Such insights can, in turn, alter our current priorities. [59]

            - Dr. Allan Tough, University of Toronto

There are numerous scenarios that could see the revolutionary introduction and application of zero point energy within Earth’s current technological paradigm. What would we do with this powerful technology, and how would we wield its global application? Considering the enormous potential for, and previous display of, human capacity and propensity for indiscriminate destruction through the aggressive application of nuclear energy (as witnessed in World War II), the use of zero point energy as a weapon against our own members of society, or even those of an extraterrestrial race, is a stark possibility to consider.

Assuming the ETH to be valid, it is reasonable to assess that Type 0 or Type I extraterrestrial races would closely monitor our development and application of zero point energy, perhaps with non-altruistic motivations, or at least with limited capabilities to influence our human nature for aggression and destruction. Type II and III civilizations would be more apt to intervene for the protection or advancement of our societies, or to protect humans from the malevolent intentions of certain Type 0 or Type I extraterrestrials.

I knew that governments suppressed antigravity, UFO-related technologies, free energy or what they call zero-point energy. This should not be kept hidden from the public when pensioners can't pay their fuel bills. [60]

- Scottish computer hacker Gary McKinnon

The implications for military, political, scientific and academic professionals facing an extraterrestrial-human zero point energy scenario is profound. The possible link between UFO propulsion systems and the United States military and its space-based research on zero point energy systems cannot go unnoticed. [61] Should not mainstream scientists and academics also take note, and begin significant research in earnest towards investigating all possible technologies related to UFOs that have the potential to radically change the evolutionary course of our species, thereby improving our chances for survival on a planet that is rapidly running out of its finite fossil fuels and other natural resources? [62]

The development and application of zero point energy is but one example of many possible technological benefits that may be accrued through the study of UFOs and the ETH. The eradication of debilitating diseases, global hunger, endemic poverty, and transformation of our perilously situated world economic framework are all issues that may be impacted by the applications of technologies derived from the study of UFOs and the ETH. Scientists and academics should not avoid such possibilities simply based upon the limited, if not myopic, premise that such benefits are deemed by some to be too remote to consider. In light of the eminent establishments already working towards such technological derivatives, and the current scientists consistently advocating for further public research on the subject, tackling the UFO and ETH issue in the public domain presents itself as a logical option.

IV – The Academic Paradox

(I)n UFO studies, hard scientists have a propensity for disregarding any statements that do not concur with accepted norms. ^[63]

 - United States Army (Retired) Colonel John B. Alexander, PhD

A Cycle of Ignorance

The issue of accepting and researching the field of exopolitics, as a natural extension of the UFO and ETH issues, has both scientific and political implications. The experiences of Dr. James McDonald and his quest to advance the study of UFOs in the face of overt and covert opposition, whether through misleading or dismissive studies such as the Condon Report or the political machinations of the United States government supported by suppressive actions of its branches of the military, exemplifies the challenges of altruistically inquisitive scientists. Wendt and Duvall (2008, p.626), who characterized the Condon Report as a “show trial,” discussed the UFO issue as a taboo, but still suggested that “taking UFOs seriously would certainly embody the spirit of self-criticism that infuses governmentality and academia in particular, and it would, therefore, foster critical theory” (p.628). The historic criticisms that have shrouded the UFO and ETH issues have developed into dogmatic, trivializing attitudes amongst the scientific community, at least publicly, and have prevented any serious discourse, let alone significant public research, into the exopolitical domain. However, the purpose of academia should be the generation of new insights and constructs rather than the reinforcement of existing preferred views.

(T)he professional academic world breeds a cycle of ignorance about UFOs. No one knows anything about it, and no one is qualified (or willing) to sponsor new research in the field. Therefore nothing gets done from within that world. Nearly all contributions to furthering our understanding of UFOs have come from outside that world. [64]

- Historian Richard M. Dolan, MA

 In spite of significant physical evidence, UFO reports continue to be ignored. The United States House Committee on Science and Astronautics (1968) was presented with significant UFO evidence collated and analysed over a 20 year period. The 1968 Condon Report, ostensibly the paragon of UFO debunking projects, was shown to be unscientific at best, fraudulent at worst, by McDonald, Sturrock, and the COMETA Report committee. The COMETA Report (p.71) committee itself pulled no punches in their support of the ETH, and its consequent call to arms for serious research towards investigating the phenomena from an interdisciplinary, international perspective. Credible witnesses that appear en mass in front of internationally publicized fora are given remarkably short shrift in the media and scientific communities for their efforts. [65] Exoplanets capable of supporting extraterrestrial habitation (as we understand it) are being discovered each year that are similar in size to Earth and within habitable zones of sun-like stars. [66] World leaders, astronauts, and distinguished scientists have called upon governments to accept the reality of UFOs and the ETH. And still, academia remains stubbornly silent in the wings, fearful of ridicule and loss of funding, while potentially the most significant physical and social phenomena of our recorded history continue unabated, unstudied, and ignored.

Any so-called skeptic that states, “There is no hard evidence to support the existence of UFOs,” is simply wrong! What he or she really means is that they haven’t taken the time to seriously review the data, and most likely you can infer that they aren’t about to start now. [67]

                        - United States Army (Retired) Colonel John B. Alexander, PhD

Wendt and Duvall (p.628) sublimely closed their paper demurring that if “academics’ first responsibility is to tell the truth, then the truth is that after sixty years of modern UFOs, human beings still have no idea what they are, and are not even trying to find out. That should surprise and disturb us all, and cast doubt on the structure of rule that requires and sustains it.” Such scorn should induce scientists and academics alike to question their own definition of modern epistemology itself, and force others to shine the light directly upon the characteristics of science such as intellectual honesty, and professional and personal integrity.

Historically speaking, peer review has more to do with enforcing social control than maintaining intellectual standards. It developed during the last century as part of a broader trend of rationalizing and standardizing intellectual labor. Basically turning it into a commodity so that it would be of value to the new system of educational funding (the so-called Carnegie system of foundations) that emerged in the early 20th century. In more than one discipline, peer review has at times held back progress. In my field of history, I am all too familiar with examples of conservative-dominated elites stifling discourse in the ranks. In practice, you find that scholarly verdicts reflected little more than the consensus of the dominant culture. [68]

            - Historian Richard M. Dolan, MA

If modern science and academia can break the vicious cycle of ignorance, fear and skepticism that represents current mainstream attitudes towards UFO research and acceptance of the ETH in the form of exopolitics, what is the next step? How will the quest for ufological truth and acceptance be rationalized through exopolitical studies? The advent of any new field of study is strewn with obstacles, and the skeptics of exopolitics have had over a half-century to entrench their single-minded positions. The brave new world exopolitician will be a multidisciplinary scientist, crossing previously uncharted territories amongst hostile and protectionist institutions.

The Exopolitical Student

 The university environment is not very friendly to those proposing that an officially sanctioned cover up of extraterrestrial life is underway and that it should be studied at the university level. Such beliefs are dismissed as unsubstantiated conspiracy theory not deserving serious academic study. [69]

            - Dr. Michael Salla

Individuals that have the inclination and courage to engage in exopolitical studies need not dwell on the UFO problem. Evidence shows that UFOs do exist, leaving the ETH as a very likely scenario from which exopoliticians may base further research. In accepting the ETH, exopoliticians may now focus on core sociological and political issues such as citizen diplomacy. Either through personal desire (i.e. private citizens) or institutionally-driven or professional mandates (government employees, military, police, medical, judicial, etc.), exopoliticians would require a focus upon the basics of communication. Entailing significant and intense academic study and /or practical training in order to effectively interact with the potentiality of many extraterrestrial races, exopoliticians would draw upon a multidisciplinary approach in engaging with extraterrestrials as a consequence of intended, inevitable contact.

Organized and directed by a global governing body, governing nation-state, ad hoc group of scientists, academics, or other professionals, or joint coalition of extraterrestrial-human representatives, exopoliticians (acting as de facto citizen diplomats) would be required to learn specific extraterrestrial languages and cultures, learn to discern disinformation and deception within those cultures, learn group dynamics within their targetted extraterrestrial porfolio, learn to appreciate extraterrestrial non-verbal (e.g. paralanguage) cues, and with the assistance of extraterrestrial and human specialists in the field, anticipate the evolution of human verbal, auditory and telepathic communication. As with contact between any inter or intra-species intended towards relationship development, communication is the first step towards establishing understanding of unique cultures, histories, politics, and motivations.

Communication requires not only expertise in sharing a message, but also understanding the implications and long-term effects of those messages and resultant actions through a series of detailed, comprehensive risk analyses. After full public disclosure of the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrials, education and training in the new field of exopolitics will become mainstream in academic and government (international, national, regional, state, municipal) institutions.

Debunkers, ufologists, SETI researchers and other critics of exopolitics are poor students of history not to have observed how academic disciplines and sub-fields develop to fulfill functional needs. Such individuals are remiss in not observing how exopolitics will fill the functional need for the systematic study of public policy issues concerning extraterrestrial life. [70]

- Dr. Michael Salla

As the study of ufology and acceptance of the ETH merge into the field of exopolitical study, exopolitics will challenge for its rightful place amongst the physical and social sciences, and straddle various academic streams as an interdisciplinary construct encompassing (but not limited to) politics, sociology, linguistics, anthropology, international relations, and education, as well as physics, biology, chemistry and astronomy. Accepting the ETH and its myriad resultant connotations dictates that exopolitics develops as a truly multidisciplinary endeavour, and will require rigorous academic extensions for those scientists specializing in singular fields of study. Just as the early European explorers of the 15^th century added statesman, diplomat, linguist, anthropologist, astronomer, geographer, and politician to their paid professional titles as ship’s captain, today’s exopoliticians will similarly require a multidisciplinary approach in successfully applying the necessary skills and techniques required in their practice of exopolitics.

V - Conclusion

The only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion and studying all modes in which it can be looked by every character of mind. No wise man ever acquired his wisdom in any mode but this. [71]

            - British Philosopher John Stuart Mill

Differentiating between truth and fallacy within the confines of specific social constructs can be difficult at times even for the most experienced critical thinkers and analytical observers. Qualitative and quantitative discernment of evidence requires a pedantic, meticulous scientific (i.e. social, physical, life and behavioral) attention to detail, cautious examination and analysis of evidence, and a contextual appreciation of the situation within the overall societal construct. Ultimately, truth and belief are very personal paradigms. Humans must make up their own minds with respect to what and whom they believe. The issue of UFOs and the ETH has long been controversial mainly due to a combination of; concerted efforts to discredit available evidence and credible witnesses for the sake of political, economic, and military protectionism; scientific and academic elitism ensconced in the fear of professional and social ridicule and institutional funding, and; the established dogmatic skeptical attitudes infused upon, by, and through mass media during a tenure of political fear which has been subsequently inculcated and manifested over generations under a suppressive institutional and government doctrine. Breaking the cycle of misinformation, disinformation, ridicule and scorn is challenging, but not impossible. Continued compilation of evidence of the existence of UFOs and the acceptance of the ETH will eventually lead to the widespread development and growth of exopolitics as a legitimate field of study within science and academia.

 As of July 2011, national exopolitical organizations have been established in 38 countries around the world. [72] Exopolitics is currently in its historical infancy, and continues to struggle to gain credence within the academic and social arenas of well-established heavyweight domains including political science, anthropology, astronomy and astrobiology. The establishment of an epistemological approach to ufology and the ETH through the collection of irrefutable scientific evidence will only be advanced by the acceptance of exopolitics as a legitimate field of study within academia.

A single hypothesis sufficiently takes into account the facts and, for the most part, only calls for present-day science. It is the hypothesis of extraterrestrial visitors. Advanced as of 1947 by certain U.S. military personnel, today it is popular worldwide. It is discredited by certain elite, but it is plausible. Scientists (astronomers, physicists, engineers, futurologists, etc.) have elaborated on it enough for it to be receivable – as a hypothesis – by their peers. [73]

- The COMETA Report

Today’s reality of government denial and secrecy surrounding UFOs and the ETH [74] does not favor the acceptance of exopolitics within academia; there is little to gain, and much to be lost by the singular voices of those who wish to study available evidence in the face of unrelenting academic ridicule, political suicide, and social ostracization. Yet, without the exposition of evidence under the auspices of academic institutions, the call to study exopolitics will continue to fall on the deaf ears and myopic eyes of those in the skeptical academic and scientific communities.

In order to gain widespread acceptance, exopolitical researchers must maintain the highest degree of academic and scientific rigor in assessing any and all information. However, we cannot hold to such unique standards that which we do not yet fully understand. For this is the raison d'être of learning; to identify the issue, propose a solution, gather all relevant data, analyze without personal prejudice or political coersion, and come to conclusions in order to categorize issues for further integration within our fields of knowledge. Rejecting information because it falls outside our paradigms of intellectual curiosity or understanding, or presents as a risk to our social constructs, is unscientific at best, and dangerously parochial (if not xenophobic) at worst. It smacks of elitism, and is unworthy of our advancing status as an intellectually curious species.

VI – Recommendations

The recommendations and commentary of McDonald, Sturrock, and the COMETA Report committee are equally valid today as when they were written 45, 14, and 11 years ago respectively. Wendt and Duvall’s commentary on the resistance by academia in aggressively addressing what should be a critical area of research also remains compelling and unchallenged. It is time now for our scientific and academic institutions to open their doors to long-term, funded research with a view to fully understanding the UFO phenomena, validating the ETH, and commencing comprehensive investment into the development and maturation of exopolitics as a legitimate field of study.

 In their official statements to the United States House Committee on Science and Astronautics in 1968, both Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle and Dr. J. Allen Hynek strongly advocated for the creation of interdisciplinary-oriented research centers to pursue the UFO issue. Four decades later, this clarion call for academic inquiry of ostensibly the most important scientific issue of our existence has been unheeded.

I believe that the establishment of an international research center is the most appropriate method to follow in reaching the goal of greater understanding of these phenomena. In my opinion, the staff of such a research center should be encouraged to avail themselves of scholars and experts in various disciplines, including astronomical, mathematical, physical, chemical, biological, medical, psychological, sociological, military, technical, legal, political, theological, and parapsychological fields of knowledge... I trust that you gentlemen are aware that the present difficulties of enacting such a proposal are inconsequential when compared to the historical impact created by those persons who dare to exert that leadership which could determine the powers, purposes, and persons who control the spacecraft which we call Unidentified Flying Objects. [75]

- Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Wyoming

The relatively small financial investments to achieve these goals on national or international levels would be overshadowed by the potentially exponential scientific breakthroughs and technological payoffs afforded by successful exopolitical research. Whether through individual universities, a consortium of groups through a national or international program, or even within existing established institutions such as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, [76] exopolitics needs a place to call home, from a geographic, political, scientific and social perspective.

I (recommend) that a mechanism be set up whereby the problem posed by the reports from all over the world, but especially by those in the United States, from people of high credibility, can be adequately studied, using all methods available to modern science, and that the investigation be accorded a proper degree of scientific respectability and an absence of ridicule so that proper investigations can be carried out unhampered by matters not worthy of the ideals of scientific endeavor. I might suggest that this could be accomplished by the establishment, by the Congress, of a UFO Scientific Board of Inquiry, properly funded, for the specific purpose of an investigation in depth of the UFO phenomenon. I have strongly urged the Air Force to ask physical and social scientists of stature to make a respectable, scholarly study of the UFO phenomenon…I feel that there exists a phenomenon eminently worthy of study. If one asks, for what purpose, I can only answer - how does one ever know where scientific inquiry will lead. If the sole purpose of such a study is to satisfy human curiosity, to probe the unknown, and to provide intellectual adventure, then it is in line with what science has always stood for. [77]

- Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Head, Department of Astronomy, Northwestern University

Exopolitics requires a comprehensive and funded leadership framework, international cooperative agreements, and an integrated working relationship between civilian and military organizations that respects the academic and intellectual integrity afforded mainstream scientific research. Lastly, exopolitics needs to be protected from the political machinations that have constrained its maturation over the last half century, and be permitted to share its results with the general public without fear of corporate hoarding, military secrecy, and government coersion driven by nationalistic economic mastery. Exopolitics is the next step for humanity in our evolutionary path, and should not be limited by stagnant paradigms of political suppression or capitalistic greed, but encouraged to proliferate amongst the scientific and academic community as a legitimate field of study.

***

About the Author: D.J. Ballinger is a retired military pilot, serving in both the Royal Canadian Air Force and the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force. He served two tours of duty on North Atlantic Treaty Organization combat operations in Kosovo and two tours on United Nations peacekeeping missions in Haiti. He holds a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (Royal Roads University), a Diploma in Exopolitics (Exopolitics Institute), a Diploma in Hydrographic Surveying (Humber College) and is a graduate of the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College. He was Chief Astronaut for the Canadian Arrow X Prize competition in the development of the first private sub-orbital manned spacecraft project.