Why UFOlogy Must Die

Opinion

Written by Lue Elizondo - 5 September 2022

Yes, that's right, I said it before, and I will say it again.  As some people have pointed out, I want UFOlogy (as we have known it) to die.

"I want to blow it up into a million bits...", as is often quoted by my detractors.  However, if you only listened to those words that I said and not what followed, then this short article is written for you. 

What was equally, if not more important was what I said following that statement, the part that is usually left out by individuals and personalities who wish to cherry-pick my words to weaponize them for the advancement of their own specific narratives. 

Simply put, the reason I stated I wanted to kill UFOlogy was so that whatever replaces it is something more holistic and harmonized.   A community that is far more academically serious and intellectually representative of the topic. 

Rather than a Wild West approach, I want to instill rigor, discipline, and professionalism into whatever follows.  What I want in the utter destruction of UFOlogy as we know it, is the growth of something new that is far more academically and scientifically focused.  I believe UFOlogy must die, stigma and all, in order for us to advance our understanding into this enigmatic topic.  I have often said, both in public and in private, that I want UFOlogy to go away, but in those conversations, I’ve also explained that whatever follows must evolve into something much more comprehensive.  In the death of UFOlogy I want a NEW type of UFOlogy, a better UFOlogy, an invigorated rebirth, like a powerful phoenix rising from the ashes.  

So why do I want to kill UFOlogy? 

Well, science, of course! 

Let’s look at our own sun as an example of death and rebirth.  The sun which we enjoy today to warm our beach bodies and grow basil on the windowsill is what is known as a ‘third-generation star’. What that means is that several generations of stars had to exist BEFORE our sun, and that the sun we orbit today is made of bits and pieces from other previous stars.  In fact, the material in our entire solar system, including our small, rocky planet, was made up of the debris of several cataclysmic cosmic events, billions of years ago involving the death and birth of stars in a supernova process.  The ancestral stars that existed before our Sun were either too hot, too big, or too volatile to sustain life as we know it today.  It was only through the death and rebirth of several stars before our sun, are we now able to enjoy the relatively constant and predictable behavior of our solar neighbor.  As we see in nature, time and time again, rebirth is a result of death, and like fire to an unhealthy crop or farmer’s field, the destruction of one thing often gives rise to something much better and healthier.  The best crops grow when the overgrowth is gone and the soil is rich in nutrients.

This brings me to my second point of why UFOlogy must die. Accountability. 

The behavior of some self-professed UFOlogists on social media has been far less than productive at times.  I would like to remind the reader that many senior government officials and their staff within our Intelligence Community and Defense apparatus watch social media.  Even politicians tune in.  And like naughty children in a sandbox, the actions of a few petulant children can drive away other children who would otherwise genuinely like to play in the sandbox too.  The UFOlogy sandbox unfortunately has a few naughty children in it that have decided that no other children are allowed to play in their sandbox otherwise risk having sand thrown in their faces.  This behavior is what drives and feeds the perpetual stigma associated with the UFO topic and UFOlogy.  From my perspective, why are we throwing sand at each other when we should concentrate on building sandcastles together?  Especially now, when countries such as San Marino are poised to possibly help champion the UAP effort internationally through efforts like Project Titan.  The first place people who are unfamiliar with UAPs will go looking for information about the topic will be social media.  Is this really the first impression we want to provide them?  

Sadly, the UFO Community as of late has become somewhat of an irrational morass of mob rule and popularity seekers.  Gone is the respect and decorum, in favor of mosh pit elbow shoves and boot kicks.  Voices of those who would otherwise apply a scholarly focus are being drowned out by those social media personalities sensationalizing their efforts as ‘disclosure activists’ in order to generate revenue through viewers and subscribers.  Those who seek ‘credit’ instead of cooperation are hijacking the topic for their own enrichment at the expense of genuine truth advocates. 

I will share with you a quote from a friend of mine: “Sometimes it's just sheer intellectual arrogance of self-professed ufologists… They too are advocates of consensus reality from their own psychological defensive perspective”.   

What I believe is needed is a UFOlogy that includes rationale-minded individuals from all walks of life with unique perspectives.  A UFOlogy that promotes thoughtful study by the scientific and academic communities and by other disciplined researchers.  I want a new UFOlogy minus the drama, the cults of personalities, and the click-bait-driven agendas that lead to petty backbiting.  I want to rip away the decades-old desiccated and hardened conspiracies and cultish enclaves like tearing off an old scab.  I want to heal the infected and oozing wound with a steady regiment of data-driven logic, humility, academic rigor, and transparency. 

I want a new UFOlogy, that is worthy of tackling and technically investigating this incredible topic; with individuals who can exchange ideas without fear of personal attack, without having to pick a side, and without middle school drama.  I want a UFOlogy where academics, scientists, elected officials, government leaders, and theologians can interact with the public, free from the click-bait misdirection created by attention hounds or social media profiteers posing as disclosure activists.  I am not saying there are no elements in the existing UFOlogy construct that embrace those values, but this is more the exception and not the rule these days.  

Cognitive bias and human emotions such as ego and pride create barriers in UFOlogy.  It is these tendencies which should be stamped out in favor of a fertile environment for the actual study of UFOs, not just a forum to gossip about individuals.  I want an environment that is both healthy and creative. An environment that focuses on the topic and not the personalities.  I want people of every race, color, gender, religion, orientation, and background to participate and realize this topic involves the entire human race.  

If I were a king for the day, what would this new environment look like?  In this new environment, topics such as Xenoscience, Exopolitics, Astrobiology, and Exotheology would not be ostracized as fringe science.  As the phenomena are still not yet fully understood and are truly unknown, we must keep ourselves open to a variety of possibilities by allowing ourselves to pragmatically frame up the ‘what if’s’ into some form of academic or scientific nomenclature.  

In this new environment, there is trust and respect between the academics, scientists, and government organizations acting as custodians for the hard data that needs to be studied and evaluated.  That respect extends to the average citizen and advocates who can thoughtfully engage these organizations through a collaborative and transparent social media enclave. 

Unfortunately, the reality show social media circus of today has challenged the government’s confidence in UFOlogy as a worthy area of study.  Week after week, these same ‘disclosure advocates’ create their own new conspiracies further alienating anyone in our government willing to champion the cause.  While to some, these podcasts, YouTube channels, Twitter feeds, and Instagram pages may be entertaining, for those making serious decisions about the future of how we will address this issue, some of these venues (not all) have created more confusion and division.  Consequently, we now must take more care now than ever in how we engage the public, we need to be better at removing our own egos from these conversations, and we must be less interested in self-promotion and more focused on information.  

So do I still want to kill UFOlogy?  You betcha!  But it's only because I have hope and faith that we can all create something much, much better. 

The topic of UFOs may very well be the greatest mystery our species has ever faced.  Let’s each take a good, long look in the mirror.  Self-reflection is sometimes scary but is necessary for growth.  Hopefully, the person standing in front of you in the mirror will listen to you.  The good news is that we all have a chance to do this the right way and it is never too late to reevaluate our approach and change course.  Why not give the topic the respect it deserves and allow the phoenix to shake off the old ashes and spread her wings?  Why not allow this beautiful bird to rise up with the dignity she deserves and to fly to her new perch where she rightfully belongs?  

…The only thing preventing that is you and me.