I never believed in flying saucers until I got married. Actually, that is not true. I believed in flying saucers before I was married. I had never seen one until after I was married. Sightings of flying saucers usually occurred in the kitchen when my wife was angry with me.
How hard to believe that in this vast universe, with its billions of galaxies containing billions of stars, our sun is the only star with a planet that has intelligent life. (I use the word “intelligent” loosely.) The possibilities of life on other planets in other solar systems are endless.
I have a friend who dismisses the idea of life existing anywhere in the universe except Earth. He has a well-researched opinion on flying saucers: “It’s all bullshit! How can you believe such a stupid idea?” he says.
“Besides the endless possibilities of life existing somewhere in the universe,” I say, “there are too many people, especially ex-military, who have come forward to talk about their experiences with flying saucers and aliens.”
“Ah, they’re full of shit. They want to sell their books, so they make stuff up.”
“But a lot of them are not selling books and have nothing to gain financially.”
“They’re still full of shit.”
“What proof do you have that they are lying?”
“I don’t need any proof. I just know that they are.”
See how well-researched his opinions are?
“If flying saucers exist, then where do they come from? Who built them? And how do they travel through the vast distances of space?”
“I don’t know. An advanced civilization built them with advanced technology.”
“Advanced civilization and advanced technology are not answers. And since you can’t tell me where they are from, who built them, and how they travel through space, then flying saucers don’t exist.”
I am not making this up. Because I cannot answer his questions about flying saucers, then they do not exist.
A lot of human beings reason the same way he does. Their reasoning is like this:
“I will not accept any facts that do not fit my beliefs. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise. I don’t have to check anything out because I already know what is true.”
Whatever happened to having an open mind and exploring ideas to see where they lead? How do you learn and grow if you are not willing to step outside your comfort zone and question your beliefs? Why not go where the evidence leads instead of trying to make the evidence fit your opinions?
A lot of human beings think that they have open minds, but quickly dismiss ideas that do not fit into their open minds. This is why when it comes to describing life on Earth, I use the word “intelligent” loosely.
