ET Presence Threatens Terrestrial Elites, But Not Our Planet’s People

© Joseph Burkes, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

An ET Presence Threatens Terrestrial Elites, But Not Our Planet’s People by

Joseph Burkes, MD FREE Advisory Board Member Note: The following is a position paper first posted seventeen years ago and has now been updated. It explains the rationale behind what is popularly known as “the UFO truth embargo.”

In 1997 I called for “the creation of a citizen network to challenge the existing regimen of secrecy and denial.” Although this late 20th century document repeatedly referred to “ufology,” the growing numbers of people actively seeking contact convinces me that a social movement to challenge the status quo will be initiated by these “contact workers” and not necessarily by “ufologists.”

The civilian UFO community, often known as "ufology," exists as a multitude of individuals and groups with a common interest in unidentified flying objects. Since 1991 I have shared this passion with other so-called "ufologists." For several years, I was closely associated with the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI). In the course of my activities with that group, I had a number of interactive encounters with what appeared to be extraterrestrial spacecraft.

I was a Working Group Coordinator for CSETI's CE-5 Initiative from 1992 till 1998 and I continue to write and speak about the UFO contact experience by working with the Peruvian based contact movement known as Rahma as well as the Mutual UFO Network.

At this point I would like to offer my observations concerning what I perceive is the fundamental problem in this field. My assessment is that ufology has failed to recognize the importance of how the extraterrestrial presence profoundly threatens all terrestrial elites. This includes the international corporate, military, political and religious leaders of our planet. Without recognizing and 1

Š Joseph Burkes, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

thoroughly analyzing this challenge to terrestrial power, those interested in understanding the phenomenon of what appears to be extraterrestrial spacecraft visiting our planet, will be hopelessly confused. More importantly, UFO activists may have unrealistic expectations and might be wasting important energy in projects that cannot bear fruit given the depths of the power structure's opposition to acknowledging an ET presence.

Currently, a number of prominent UFO groups are advocating that Congress hold open hearings on the issue of government secrecy concerning UFOs and the distinct probability that extraterrestrial spacecraft are visiting our planet. Retired military and intelligence officers who have had direct personal experiences with the UFO subject during their official work have been identified. There is now an opportunity to inform the public, if these official witnesses can be induced to testify under oath before Congress.

As might be expected, the push for public hearings on this controversial topic has encountered resistance. It has been the not too secret hope of many UFO activists that some kind of official disclosure might be underfoot. It is my assessment however, that no disclosure will take place without tremendous pressure on the terrestrial power structure; more pressure than can be applied to Congress at the current time.

Frustrated by years of official denial, how can UFO enthusiasts work to remedy this predicament? In my opinion a broad based coalition, employing coordinated political action will be an essential part of the disclosure process. This will probably require dozens of organizations and thousands of activists. Such a campaign will very likely take the form of the grassroots movements for social change. Models of such efforts include the union organizing drives of the 1930s and the peace and the civil rights movements of the 1960s. To develop such a coalition of individuals and groups, it is necessary to analyze how all terrestrial 2

Š Joseph Burkes, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

power is challenged by an ET presence.

Our planet's population is divided into more than 100 nation states. National political leaders are able to exercise their power on the basis of nationalism. As the prominent ufologist Stanton Friedman has said, "Nationalism is the name of the game." Once the people of the planet are permitted to acknowledge an ET presence, the masses will tend to see themselves as "terrestrial" or simply "human."

Faced with what will likely be an incredible diversity of ET cultures, people on our planet may start to identify with the Earth as a whole rather than with their particular nation state. Thus, the power of national politicians would be threatened by the admission that some UFOs represent extraterrestrial spacecraft built by nonhumans from the stars.

From the point of view of ordinary citizens, an end to nationalism and the realization of the slogan "One planet, one people," might not be tragic at all. Given the sad record of the past century, with over 100 million killed in wars resulting from national rivalry, it might make good sense to place nationalism in the dustbin of history. Of course national political leaders who derive their power from "the people", i.e., their nation's people, would understandably be threatened by an outside presence that undermines their ideological power bases.

The presence of technologically advanced craft know as “flying saucers� has challenged the military leaders of every nation. Advanced civilizations visiting our planet appear to be quite capable of producing craft that can fly circles around the military's high performance jets. Military leaders are thus unable to secure our planet's airspace from alien intrusion. This provides one rationale for the militaryintelligence community's role in maintaining secrecy about UFOs.

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Š Joseph Burkes, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

The so-called extraterrestrials appear to have access to incredibly powerful energy systems to propel their spacecraft. Speculation within ufology has suggested that their craft use non-polluting "free energy systems." If the authorities acknowledged an ET presence and cooperation were established, then over time we could conceivably learn to use such efficient energy technologies. Thus many of our economic as well as environmental problems might be solved.

From the point of view of the multinational oil corporations, this would not be a favorable development. The downloading of advanced energy systems into our technological culture would undoubtedly end the worldwide monopoly that has been called “the empire of oil.� The jobs and profits generated by the energy sector of our economy could disappear causing much social disruption. On the other hand because the Gulf Wars and other military actions in the Middle East are driven by a hunger for cheap oil, ending our dependence on petroleum might reduce the risks of war and the need to maintain large armies.

An important pillar of our planet's belief systems is organized religion. The true history of our planet may reveal that the flying saucer phenomenon is really an ancient process rather than a modern one. A Renaissance religious painting depicting a flying saucer certainly suggests this possibility. The myths of ancient civilizations declaring that their knowledge and technology were obtained from "star people", provides additional support for ancient astronaut theories.

What if the holy men and prophets of biblical times were in reality contactees? Their religious experiences may have reflected encounters with nonhuman intelligence, some of which might have been extraterrestrial in nature. If this theory proves true or even possible, acknowledging the presence of ETs could 4

Š Joseph Burkes, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

severely undermine our belief systems. Thus, the religious elites of our planet are not likely to celebrate the disclosure of an ET presence.

If this analysis accurately reflects the perceived self-interest of our planet's elites, then any extraterrestrials visiting our planet should logically be perceived by them as the enemy. The worldwide secrecy campaign concerning UFOs can now be seen as the consequence of ruling classes that understandably take action in selfdefense. This need not be seen as a conspiracy. Efforts to deny the importance of UFOs, to resist public disclosure of their visitations are the natural response of any social system attempting to preserve the status quo.

In the course of human development, both evolutionary and revolutionary historical trends can be seen. The creation of Christianity out of Judaism can be viewed as a revolutionary force that spread monotheism across the planet. The Roman Empire, cognizant of the challenge, violently suppressed the new religion that placed an almighty God over the Emperor.

In my opinion the acceptance of an all powerful and ethical God by this planet's peoples has done much to promote the welfare of the Earth's population.

Concepts, such as the rule of law and social justice, as well as the ending of human sacrifice and slavery, all have their roots in the wave of revolutionary monotheism that swept our planet during the first millennium of the Common Era. Similarly the rule of both kings and political despots has been replaced by the democratic revolutions of the 17th through 20th centuries. The old regime never gives up without a fight. Indeed the struggle for democracy continues to this day.

It is only natural that the Earth's ruling elites will combat what some might perceive as the ultimate threat. As long as any extraterrestrial visitors spare us undeniable displays of their physical presence, indirect means can be employed to maintain the secrecy regimen. This includes the ridicule of witnesses and the suppression of credible reports of encounters. If Colonel Philip Corso, author of "The Day After Roswell", is to be believed, covert military actions against ET craft are taking place as well.

Corporate control of the mass media has been used to relegate reports of UFOs to tabloid formats that trivialize them. Security oaths, under national security regulations, are employed to silence credible military witnesses of UFO encounters. Ufology is itself a likely target for disinformation spread by sections of 5

Š Joseph Burkes, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

the intelligence services authorized to deal with the UFO subculture. Terrestrial power can be expected to defend itself. These efforts will surely continue in the future.

The creation of a citizen network to challenge the existing regimen of secrecy and denial will by necessity be a difficult and prolonged struggle. There will be the need for accelerating the educational process to alert the public of the reality of flying saucers and the high probability that they represent extraterrestrial spacecraft visiting our planet.

One of most important factors in this equation is the actions of the so-called extraterrestrials themselves. For reasons that are only known to them, they have chosen not to impose on our culture irrefutable displays of their physical presence.

Although the tempo of sightings and other types of human-ET interactions appears to be accelerating, it seems likely that the proverbial "landing on the White house lawn" will not occur any time soon. It may never take place. Rather than passively waiting for the power structure to acknowledge that ET spacecraft are visiting our planet, those who feel passionately about this issue should be prepared to take action. Non-governmental organizations have a long tradition of finding innovative solutions to important problems. As a former peace activist from the 1960s through the 1980s, I recall the slogan, "When the people lead, the leaders will follow."

If a broad based people's movement is to be created there will be the need for much organizing. A special role for building unity also exists because ufology is rife with sectarianism. The UFO community has in many ways been isolated from the mainstream culture. Breaking free from this isolation will require a balanced program of public education.

I would like to encourage ufology to consider this analysis. It is my sincere hope that by understanding the power relationships that are at work here we can do much to change the current situation. I invite comments on the points raised here and look forward to a productive dialogue.

For more deals on my contact activities, please visit me site at www.contactunderground.com At the Contact Underground page on Facebook. And as a guest blogger on ETletstalk, the global CE-5 community at http://etletstalk.org/ 6