7 Reasons People Are Skeptical About UFOs

Most people believe aliens exist, yet there's still a lot of stigma attached to the topic. That's why most of the conversations about ETs take place online.

But what distinguishes believers and non-believers? Why are some people so certain that intelligent extraterrestrials are beyond the realm of possibility? This article explores the reasons behind the mindset of denying the UFO phenomenon.

John Lennon said it best:

"If the masses started to accept UFOs, it would profoundly affect their attitude towards life, politics, everything. It would threaten the status quo. Whenever people come to realize that there are larger considerations than their own petty lives, they are ripe to make radical changes on a personal level, which would eventually lead to a political revolution in society as a whole."

The status quo is essentially the Now without the possibility of change. The status quo is perpetual stagnation that most people take for safety and stability. Needless to say, it's an illusion. There's no safety in a world ruled by deception. The status quo is comforting, but the truth is liberating.

We don't like extraterrestrials. We don't want extraterrestrials, we are afraid of them. It's a psychological problem - we are not ready to accept that we are not the greatest. -- Erich von Daniken

The world is inconceivably complex, and there's so much we still don't know. Yet people get comfortable within their own belief system, and they become blind to anything that contradicts it.

Studies¹ show that strongly held incorrect beliefs often do not change even when confronted with belief-conflicting facts. People simply ignore the incompatible information, or discard it as unreliable.

That is the very mechanism behind denying the ET reality. People just turn a deaf ear to any information that conflicts with their worldview and live their whole lives without ever seeking the answers to the BIG questions.

On the other hand, the Bible says that man is the pinnacle of creation, so we're conditioned to believe that mankind is at the top of God's list. As one scientist said,

"From the very beginning, life has evolved as if there were a goal to attain, and as if this goal were the advent of the human consciousness." (Lecomte du Noüy)

So what if, on an intergalactic evolutionary scale, we're about as special as slugs? That's a disturbing thought most people don't care to explore.

Even though the majority of people believe there is intelligent life out there, way out there,³ the subject of the UFOs still remains a taboo. Not virtually perhaps, but intellectually and socially.

Scientists hesitate to openly admit being UFO believers for fear of losing scientific credibility. Media channels ignore the topic completely, occasionally covering a crop circle prank or some other UFO-related hoax. And don't even think of talking about it at a Thanksgiving dinner! Grandma will have a heart attack.

It seems that the proverbial "tinfoil hat" has grown into a crown of thorns under pressure to fit in with socially acceptable beliefs and behavioral norms.

The fact that most governments are concealing evidence of alien life is undisputed in the UFO community. This ongoing cover-up has been called “the greatest secret of the 20th century.”

It's believed that at least three world powers - U.S., Russia and China - are in contact with ETs, and even engaged in illegal treaties with them on behalf of their people, and ultimately, on behalf of all people. Of course, any information regarding this matter is highly classified.

Occasionally someone grows a conscience, or speaks out on a deathbed, or becomes a crusader of exposing the cover-up, like Phil Shneider (who've had numerous attempts on his life, assassinated in 1996).

But for the most part, the government has been successful in maintaining the illusion of "business as usual." People just ignore the whistle-blowers, or are too distracted to notice what's happening right under their noses.

Here's an understatement: the Universe is big.

It's so big that the human mind is literally incapable of imagining such vastness. I won't bore you with meaningless numbers signifying just how enormous it is.

Lets just say that there are billions of galaxies out there. And that's only the "observable Universe," what we can project using astronomical data. And the Universe is expanding. It might even be infinite. But even if it's not, it's still incomprehensibly, profoundly vast. That alone should inspire some sort of belief in the ETs.

And this is where it gets sticky.

Many people believe we’re not alone in the universe, but only few admit believing that alien races inhabit Earth or interact with humans in any way.

People just passively accept that there might be intelligent life somewhere out there, millions of light years away, but not here, not now, and it's unlikely that they will ever reach us.

Some intelligent life far far away or microbial organisms on Jupiter's moon, or even a "face" on Mars - that's sort of irrelevant. What's important to realize is that there's intelligent life HERE and NOW, on this planet and inside this planet, engaging in human affairs. That's one of the most important realization anyone can have in their lifetime.

Contrary to popular belief that the field of ufology is synonymous with hoaxes, the number of false reports is quite low. Most UFO reports are honest mistakes, not intentional lies.

Truth be told, in majority of cases UFOs, or Unidentified Flying Objects, are just that - "unidentified". People assume they are of extraterrestrial origin because it's exciting, or distort the truth for selfish reasons, which further complicates an already complicated issue.

Add to that intentional government disinformation, and you can understand why the public is inclined to deny the reality of aliens and UFOs.

The absence of concrete physical evidence is the most cited reason for skepticism about aliens and UFOs.

But what constitutes evidence?

UFO researchers say that there's more than enough evidence to prove, conclusively, that aliens are here now, and have been since the beginning of human history, such as

• ancient relics depicting extraterrestrials or their vehicles
• hundreds of thousands of documented witness accounts
• whistle-blowers' from within the government
• testimonies of highly qualified specialists
• military, navy and air force officers' accounts
• astronauts' accounts
• actual physical evidence including recovered implants, metal artifacts of unknown chemical composition from UFO crash sights, electromagnetic disturbances to the soil and vegetation around landing sites and crop circles, alien skeletons found in Chile ("Ata", the subject of the documentary "Sirius") and Russia ("Aleshenka"), video and photographic evidence etc.

Undoubtedly, there's more to add to the list. So if the lack of evidence is not an issue, what is? Steven Greer said,

"The problem is not proving that UFOs exist, the problem is when you begin to expose the energy and propulsion systems behind how they're getting here. You're talking about unveiling an entirely new science that would replace oil, gas, coal, nuclear power, public utilities. This is the $600 Trillion problem."

The real issue behind the "absence of physical evidence" is our government's systematic suppression of information confirming the ET reality. In Richard Dolan's words, "UFO evidence derived from a grass roots level can never survive its inevitable conflict with official culture."

To reiterate, the main problem is not the lack of proof, it's the state of denial which cannot be ended by collecting more evidence.

I once had a conversation with Travis Walton at a UFO conference, and he said that the disclosure can only happen in one of two ways: either by a high-ranking government official whistle-blower, or as a result of an actual mass sighting no one can question or deny.

I believe there is a third way, and it's raising public awareness.

We can't wait for the government to disclose the truth. Personally, I don't believe it will ever happen. Enough people must become aware and demand full disclosure of human-alien contact.

Ultimately, it's up to us, the people, a collective human consciousness, to determine our path and our relationship with the intergalactic community.