Alien Abduction, Personal Journals and What to do?

I’ve recently passed a major milestone in my academic career and I’m on a well-needed vacation to recharge the batteries. It’s such a great feeling; the end is in sight to finish my studies. I’ve seen beautiful scenery, had absolutely gorgeous weather, and seen lots of wonderful things for mind and spirit.

I was wandering around on the internet the other day and I saw something that triggered an issue I have thought off and on about for several years. To start, I don’t know if this is true or not (all I have is what was written and shown on a web page), but it appears that some material from a very well known alien abduction researcher is in the hands of a third party. Ouch, at least to me that is disturbing. This could be a fabrication -- who knows at this point -- but it does bring up a good topic of discussion.

Ufology is not an established science. There is a struggle going on to try and keep what UFO research archives there are intact so they do not get lost, and so other researchers can build from them. Unfortunately, this is what happens to a lot of good research and UFO data that has been collected over the years. People and organizations that pass on don’t control the material and typically it gets dispersed all over the world in one form or another. Collectors sometimes move in and pay major bucks for a collection, then they deep-six it and nobody ever sees it again. This is what can happen to good UFO data that has been collected and organized. Possibly lost forever with little chance of retrieval.

If it is that tough to keep good UFO investigation data intact, then for something that is so intensely controversial as alien abduction (AA) wow, how does this aspect of ufology stand a chance? There are no standards of operation anywhere in ufology, let alone something as complicated and personal as AA. There are no standards of operation between AA researchers. What happens to the data collected when either people pass on, lose interest, or whatever in life happens? Several prominent AA researchers that we have known have passed on in the last several years. What happened to all the research? This is not just UFO sighting reports; this is intensely personal stuff to the individual who volunteered it.

UFO organizations have done their best in collecting data on reports but there are no standardized methods and no quality control on any of these reports. This has been a totally fly by the seat of your pants operation and all the persons involved in quality research over the decades are the unsung heroes for collecting this data to the best of their ability. This particular topic is too large by itself for this one blog to consider.

There isn’t any funding for good science in ufology. The corporate world and academia need to drive the engine for funding good research. Of course corporate is looking for marketable items and we as a world society are not even close to that paradigm shift. (We need that new alien toaster.) Then there is military funding and I think most of us would agree there is some kind of under the table military funding going on in UFO research but it is not available to the general public. I would expect that members of academia are involved in a collaborative effort with military UFO research but they are under non-disclosure agreements.

Since ufology is not an established science and we have no way of keeping most of the data intact, how in the heck are we going to handle the sensitive issue of alien abductions? It is not happening and it isn’t going to happen. Corporate and military funding drives academic invention and research. Corporations are driven by investor demands for return on investment. Military research has their own goals in mind. You can guess what some of those are.

Not only does alien abduction research need funding but it needs a multi-faceted medical approach. We need degreed professionals who abide by a standard of ethics and a standard of operation that must be met in every facet of an AA investigation. This is not happening and I don’t see it happening in the foreseeable future. It there is a major paradigm shift in the reality of UFOs and their occupants, I fear it may be too late for humanity to begin the steps needed for this type of research.

Personally I have a mountain of data that I have collected over the years. Journals, sketches, paintings, photographs, and other things that I will not mention. If the doctor told me I had six months to live, what would I do with it all? Nobody has ever read all of what I have. Only two people have read a small fraction from my journals; my spouse and one other person. That is it. Whom could I give my stuff too? I can’t think of anybody. There is no safe place for it to go. Whom could I possibly trust with it? I can only think of one thing I can do and that is I have left instructions for my materials to be destroyed if anything happens to me.

If UFO case data can’t be safeguarded, then how can AA research be protected? It’s like having your medical data strewn all over the globe. Actually it is a lot worse than that. There is no place to go with the data. As the saying goes, it is what it is.

I would like to close with a quote from Albus Dumbeldore, from the Harry Potter series:

“Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.”