Nuance – The Art of Subtle Censorship in American Culture

The Dome and "Friend"

I spent the day of 9-3-11 in Exeter, New Hampshire at their 3^rd. Annual UFO Festival along with Illustrator X and The Dead Redhead. Yes, I know, kooks and octogenarians with tin foil hats, right? Well, yes and no. There were copious numbers of the usual suspects:  aged men in suits telling of The Coming of Tan and other such drivel, lecturing on and on with maniacal precision about the 4000 year old issues that have plagued the universe’s multitude of beings.  The heretics in their tattered clothes handing out  mimeo copies of the latest conspiracy involving the alien abductions of whomever for whatever purpose.

Then there were the well-spoken, well-educated, well-intentioned, well-educated participants. Those who were thoughtful, reasoned and dispassionate in their approach were in attendance to lend an air of authenticity and genuine inquiry into the event. Among them were:

Stanton Friedman

Stanton Friedman: Stanton has been a voice of reason in the UFO community, not an apologist. He does not suffer fools on either side of the debate and has no use for those who will not bring their evidence into the light for meaningful clinical verification and review. His background in hard science is a boost to his personal philosophy that validity relies upon finding the truth.

Katheleen Marden: Kathy is a writer and lecturer and the niece of Betty and Barney Hill. As an “insider” to the events after their abduction experience, Kathy was very upset at the “seemingly” deliberate misinformation disseminated by supposed debunkers, experts and major news organizations about the Hill incident. In a one-hour lecture she provided chapter and verse of misinformation alongside actual factual record of the events. It proved to be both enlightening and somewhat amusing to see the lengths some went to distort actual testimony and affidavits.

There were the skeptics there as well. I am always amused by them, especially considering that many of them are my good friends, and I have come to believe that I am by and large tolerated by the Skeptic Community for having an open mind and respecting their point of view. I wish there was more of this, but more often than not there is an ever-growing intolerance between the Skeptic community and the UFO community. I had a wonderful conversation with Stanton at the conference and I postulated that regardless of the side they were on, once a “believer” believed, their faith became unshakable and steadfast. Any information/facts/evidence to the contrary of their belief was summarily tossed out. I am beginning to understand that this is common on both sides of the equation. The level of both deliberate and sloppily unintentional misinformation on both sides of this discussion is making any REAL skeptical inquiry next to impossible.

Consider the concepts of two writers. Fritz Leiber told us that when times are good, science tells the truth and magicians tell people what they wish were true. In bad times people sell their souls for magic. Robert Heinlein told us in his novella WALDO, that magic and science are two sides of the same coin, with the unifying factor being Man.

This is Done, sayin’: If there is ever to be any real meaningful discourse on UFO’s it will come from those willing, not to believe, but to listen.