One of the things that has been popular amongst many in the extraterrestrials (ET) / UFO (aka "UAP") field is the concept of a "mass landing" by ETs.
I can understand that - if one is a member of a minority group, or extols unconventional views, validation that overrides the objections of others can be emotionally appealing . . . but that doesn't necessarily mean it is desirable or - morally or spiritually speaking - "right".
The mass panic in response to the Orson Welles radio programme "War of the Worlds" is often cited as an example of the potential problems, but so too is the stock market crash that led to the "Great" Depression, the social suspicion and hate of pogroms, lynchings, and other mob murders, and other, often fatal, "mass hysteria" events. [See Note 1]
In the case of extraterrestrials, if, as many have suggested (including in "Briefing for the Landing on Planet Earth") ETs are preparing our world for open contact [See Note 2] , then what matters is not the desire for validation of proponents of ET contact, but what the effect will be on the rest of the human population.
I am currently reading "UFOs & Nukes: Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites" by Robert L. Hastings, and this aspect is well covered in one of the discussions in book (there are quite a few other, excellent discussions as well - I haven't finished it yet, only about half way, but already am inclined to strongly recommend it). The book includes the following quote which illustrates the emotional damage done by the sort of mass panic I am referring to:
"Why, one might reasonably ask, am I so strident in my criticism of these naysayers? Because, first and foremost, they really do impede the progress of scientific understanding, despite their own self-image as champions of truth. But also, I confess, because I have had to endure so many of these zealots while speaking about UFOs at colleges and universities."
The rabid nature of the zealots is also very obviously illustrated by the violent anti-vaxxer movements we are seeing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If I was an ET, and saw the insanity of the responses to pandemic containment measures - measures which have been successfully used for centuries against other diseases, I would have a long think about whether I wanted to try any sort of mass landing event.
The countercultural movement of the 60s and 70s had a lot of flaws, but its adherents would likely have been open to a mass landing events - but all of that was killed off by a combination of the conservative backlash, and the lack of genuineness of too many countercultural participants. It was a moment of hope that was lost.
A few decades later, we saw another moment of hope: the end of the Cold War, and an easing of the nuclear threat that I and many others consider likely to be behind increased ET / UFO activity [See Note 3] . . . but that too was lost - to the subsequent spread of a neoliberal warped version of capitalism (especially in Russia).
Now we have seen a pandemic that started with scenes of people pulling together and supporting each other, and has led to a rethink of the factory-farming type approach to office work and life . . . and is ending with the violence of emotionally inept zealots . . .
If there ever is to be a mass landing event, it won't happen until humans as a species are capable of meeting change MOSTLY with a semblance of emotional (and, ideally, spiritual) maturity.
The anti-vaxxers have put that prospect back by decades.
Notes
- From Robert Hastings' book:
"however, there are other, less mystical considerations. If proof of alien visitation is realized there will also be immediate and quite possibly dire consequences: For example, would large numbers of people literally panic? Even if just one percent did so, that would be quite a lot of humans running amok. Would Wall Street and other financial markets crash, and banks fail, as people rush to withdraw their money while awaiting further developments? Will other catastrophic consequences, even short-lived ones, cause human civilization to teeter on the brink?" - From Robert Hastings' book:
"A counter-argument suggested by some researchers, including the author, is that if some UFOs are indeed extraterrestrial craft, then perhaps the beings within them are engaged in a gradual but deliberate revealing of themselves, designed to slowly sensitize humankind to their presence." - From Robert Hastings' book:
"given the persuasive data regarding the UFO-Nukes Connection, it seems obvious that at least one of the races of beings is greatly interested in our nuclear weapons. Perhaps the visitors have empathy for humankind and wish to warn us of the dangers of nuclear warfare. Or perhaps they have a use for our planet, let’s say for scientific purposes, and know that global nuclear warfare will disrupt their data-gathering and/or experiments."
