by Rena Sherwood

Created on: March 13, 2008   Last Updated: December 27, 2008

The US government's official stance on UFOs is that they do not exist. This is also the stance of the governments of every other nation that cares top comment on such matters. Any UFO sighting is explained as originating from earth, such as swamp gas, weather balloons or hallucinations. Although frustrating to those who would love to know if alien life exists, this stance is one of the very typical policies from the American government.

There are three reasons why governments insist that our planet has not ever been visited by extra-terrestrials. The first is to protect any military secrets. The second is to not to look like a complete idiot if, perchance, we somehow discover conclusively that alien life never could have visited us. And lastly, the government has far more important priorities than wondering if we are a vacation spot for otherworld travelers.

Experimental Aircraft

There were and are very strange aircraft and airborne missiles constantly being tested by the military. This happens in almost all countries, not just the United States. However, since the United States is one of the largest and most densely populated countries on the planet, you can't shoot something into the sky without somebody noticing it somewhere. Being human, when we see something we can't identify, we want desperately to know if it's going to kill us or not.

From the 1930's to the 1950's, the US military experimented with many round or disc-shaped aircraft, only to eventually abandon the concept in favor of an alarming triangular shaped plane which eventually became known as "stealth fighters" like the F-117 Night Hawk. Sightings of these craft had to be denied and laughed at so as not to give any other country a bright idea on designing superior military aircraft.

In the popular 1977 Steven Spielberg film, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", a private citizen is shown sighing to the military, "If you're doing experiments out in the hills, could you just tell us?"

Keeping the Peace Through Incompetence

The US government is conservative, no matter what political party is in control. It tries to keep the peace among its vast territory by championing the status quo and resisting any kind of change. Since life on other planets let alone life that can fly spacecraft is not an idea embraced by conservative thinking, it's not taken seriously at all by the government. As long as the aliens don't try to take over the country, that is.

And, quite frankly, the government can't even keep up with the problems on Earth without wondering what ET is going to do to them. Since most UFO sightings shows the aliens seem incredibly harmless. Not bent on taking over the White House, or robbing us of all of our women, they just buzz by, blink some lights and disappear. Until they pose an actual threat, then the government will try to helplessly focus on problems like the environment and the economy before they will ever go stargazing.

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