The truth is out there

When I was a kid, I was sure I saw a UFO (unidentified flying object). As an adult, I learned that it was likely a jet plane, at just enough distance away to seem to be absolutely silent.

Apart of me still likes to think it was a UFO.

When I was a kid, I wished I was a witch. I always went as a witch at Halloween. What I really wanted were magical powers.

I still wonder if that can happen.

I've been raised on a diet of fairytales. There are stories circulating in many cultures about little people who live underground, under our feet, and who can do magical things.

I sometimes wish fairtytales were true.

I was raised on a diet of science fiction, too. Not only are there UFOs, but there are extra-terrestrials (ETs), visitors from other places that are here on Earth, right now. Or so some claim.

And here is where my childhood dreams and wishes break down.

I was directed to Coast to Coast AM radio's web site, who now offer broadcasts as downloadable MP3s, so I signed up for a month's worth. I'm enjoying listening to American talk radio (again), but listening to some of the topics and beliefs on this show are straining my credulity.

Some people really believe that there are conspiracies, that there are ETs on Earth, that there is a (in some cases, literal) cover-up involving non-manmade space craft on our planet, that there is a city on the dark side of the Moon, and that we don't know about these things because our astronomers are sworn to secrecy by a government which doesn't think we can be told the truth without panicking. Which may be the only fact stated in this paragraph.

What gets me is how willing people are to believe these things, including the end to our planet, especially if the source is some channelled entity. What got me writing was this: A blind listener calling the radio show was frustrated that technology is making is harder to have physical disabilities, not easier, so she wanted the Zetas to tell her whether or not being blind would get easier. The answer: Yes, because during the coming pole shift we will all be plunged into darkness, so being blind would be an advantage. The blind caller was cheered up by the answer.

And that's when the insanity of it hit me: The caller was so focused on her personal needs - or on getting such a positive response from the Zetas - that she probably didn't stop to think that her "solution" would require the destruction of civilization as we know it and kill off half our population, too. To me, that is just...so out there.

The flakes, woo-woos, UFO buffs, Bigfoot hunters, what-have-you, say the truth is out there. Maybe not. Maybe it's much closer to home, but that's too mundane, too easy, to hold our interest. Which is a shame. I think it keeps people from finding more workable and reasonable explanations and solutions to whatever problems or mysteries they are struggling with.

Mind you, I still believe in ghosts.

PS: "The truth is out there" is the catch-phrase for the TV-series "X-files", though not necessarily coined by it.