Sunday, March 19, 2006
It came from out of the sky...
I find it discouraging and a bit depressing when I notice the unequal treatment afforded by the media to UFO believers on the one hand, and on the other, to those who believe in an invisible supreme being who inhabits the sky. Especially as the latter belief applies to the whole Jesus-messiah-son-of-god fable. You may have noticed that in the media, UFO believers are usually referred to as "buffs," a term used to diminish and marginalize them by relegating them to the ranks of "hobbyists," and mere "enthusiasts." They're made to seem like kooks and quant dingbats, who have the nerve to believe that in an observable universe of trillions upon trillions of stars, and most likely many hundreds of billions of inhabitable planets, some of those planets may have produced life forms capable of doing things that we can't do. What nerve!
On the other hand, those who believe in an eternal, all powerful being, a being who demands to be loved unconditionally, and who punishes and rewards according to his whim, are thought to be worthy, upright, credible people. This, in spite of the large numbers of believers, who are clearly closed-minded fanatics. To my way of thinking, there is every bit of as much evidence for the existence of UFOs as there is for the existence of God. Probably far more. At least in the case of UFOs, there have been countless taped and filmed, and by the way, unexplained sightings, from all over the world. Along with documented radar evidence, seen by experienced military and civilian radar operators. And this does not even begin to include the widespread testimony of not only high trained, experienced military and civilian pilots- who are selected for their jobs in part for their above average eye-sight and mental stability- but also of equally well-trained and experienced law enforcement officers. Such pilots and law enforcement people are known to be serious, sober individuals who would have a lot to lose, were they to be associated with anything resembling kooky outlandish beliefs. Nonetheless, they have taken the risk of revealing their experiences, because they are convinced they have seen something objectively real, that they consider important.
All of these accounts are ignored by the media. Granted, the world of UFO belief has its' share of kooks and nuts and fringe people, but have you ever listened to some of these religious true-believers? Have you ever heard of any extreme bizarre behavior or outlandish claims associated with religious zealots? Could any of them be considered kooks, nuts or dingbats? A fair person would have to say, "Yes." But the marginal people in these two groups don't matter in this argument. What matters is the prejudice and superstition built into the media coverage of the two sets of beliefs. One is treated reverently, and accepted as received truth. The other is treated laughingly and dismissed out of hand. As evidence of the above premise, I offer one version of a typical television news story heard each year on the final Friday of Lent:
"Today is Good Friday, observed by Christians worldwide as a day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the son of God, whose death redeemed the sins of mankind."
Here is the way it SHOULD be written:
"Today is Good Friday, observed worldwide by Jesus buffs, as the day on which the popular bearded cultural figure, sometimes referred to as "the messiah", was allegedly crucified, and according to legend, died for mankind's so-called-sins. Today kicks off a holy weekend that culminates on Easter Sunday, when it is widely believed this "dead savior," who also, by the way, claimed to be the son of a sky-dwelling invisible being, known as "God," mysteriously rose from the dead. Accordingly to the legend, by volunteering to be killed and actually going through with it, Jesus saved every person who has ever lived, and every person who will ever live, from an eternity of suffering in a fiery region popularly known as "Hell," providing, so the story goes, that the person to be saved firmly believes this rather fanciful tale."
That would be an example of unbiased news reporting. Don't wait around for it to happen. The aliens will land first.
PS. Again... A big thanks to George for being such a swell guy!
On the other hand, those who believe in an eternal, all powerful being, a being who demands to be loved unconditionally, and who punishes and rewards according to his whim, are thought to be worthy, upright, credible people. This, in spite of the large numbers of believers, who are clearly closed-minded fanatics. To my way of thinking, there is every bit of as much evidence for the existence of UFOs as there is for the existence of God. Probably far more. At least in the case of UFOs, there have been countless taped and filmed, and by the way, unexplained sightings, from all over the world. Along with documented radar evidence, seen by experienced military and civilian radar operators. And this does not even begin to include the widespread testimony of not only high trained, experienced military and civilian pilots- who are selected for their jobs in part for their above average eye-sight and mental stability- but also of equally well-trained and experienced law enforcement officers. Such pilots and law enforcement people are known to be serious, sober individuals who would have a lot to lose, were they to be associated with anything resembling kooky outlandish beliefs. Nonetheless, they have taken the risk of revealing their experiences, because they are convinced they have seen something objectively real, that they consider important.
All of these accounts are ignored by the media. Granted, the world of UFO belief has its' share of kooks and nuts and fringe people, but have you ever listened to some of these religious true-believers? Have you ever heard of any extreme bizarre behavior or outlandish claims associated with religious zealots? Could any of them be considered kooks, nuts or dingbats? A fair person would have to say, "Yes." But the marginal people in these two groups don't matter in this argument. What matters is the prejudice and superstition built into the media coverage of the two sets of beliefs. One is treated reverently, and accepted as received truth. The other is treated laughingly and dismissed out of hand. As evidence of the above premise, I offer one version of a typical television news story heard each year on the final Friday of Lent:
"Today is Good Friday, observed by Christians worldwide as a day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the son of God, whose death redeemed the sins of mankind."
Here is the way it SHOULD be written:
"Today is Good Friday, observed worldwide by Jesus buffs, as the day on which the popular bearded cultural figure, sometimes referred to as "the messiah", was allegedly crucified, and according to legend, died for mankind's so-called-sins. Today kicks off a holy weekend that culminates on Easter Sunday, when it is widely believed this "dead savior," who also, by the way, claimed to be the son of a sky-dwelling invisible being, known as "God," mysteriously rose from the dead. Accordingly to the legend, by volunteering to be killed and actually going through with it, Jesus saved every person who has ever lived, and every person who will ever live, from an eternity of suffering in a fiery region popularly known as "Hell," providing, so the story goes, that the person to be saved firmly believes this rather fanciful tale."
That would be an example of unbiased news reporting. Don't wait around for it to happen. The aliens will land first.
PS. Again... A big thanks to George for being such a swell guy!
# posted by Duddadu @ 10:36 PM 
