I have been thinking about the fate of heretics in the past, and what heresy means to us today. Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for espousing new scientific viewpoints in the field of Astronomy. Galileo was threatened with the same for pointing out that the planets had Moons, and that they did not move according to the Ptolemaic crystal spheres of ancient belief.

These, and other cases, took place centuries ago. Modern civilisation should be beyond such ignorance and persecution, right? After all,we have come a long way since people were burned at the stake, or tortured, for holding beliefs which might be different from the accepted norm, HAVEN'T WE ?

Perhaps not...

Today, the persecution of heretics is alive and well in the so-called advanced societies of the west.

What defines heresy? The Thorndike-Barnhart dictionary defines it as:

Her e sy (her uh see)

1. A belief different from the accepted belief of a church, school, or profession.

2. The holding of such a belief.

What most people think of when they hear the word are those unfortunates who didn't, much to their own detriment, follow the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church in the time of the Inquisition. Be that as it may, why are heretics seen as a threat so great that they must be rooted out and destroyed? It is because heretics, by speaking of new or different ideas, jeopardise the Status Quo. A threat to the Status Quo is a threat to those in power.

Those in power have ALWAYS feared and resisted change. Why is this? This is because the powerful recognise that retaining their position at the apex of the social structure relies on keeping the people under control. Control of the people is maintained by making them march in unison. This requires control over information, and what people think. Just observe what that mind numbing box known as television has done to the people of the world in the last 50 years.

Therefore, the powerful herd everyone together under one paradigm. Should that paradign change in any way, people might begin to question what they have been "trained" to think. To the ruling elite, thinking on the part of the people is dangerous. They may even catch on that the ruling elite are little more than parasites, using and oppressing them for the benefit of the few. And THAT could lead to general revolt, and the overthrow of the "ruling elite". People might stop paying taxes, expect a fairer share of what they produce, and demand more freedom. The very concept absolutely TERRIFIES the so-called elite. (The term "elite" is actually a misnomer. That word implies that these people are somehow intrinsicly BETTER than the rest of us. They are NOT.)

New ideas, and ways of thinking, are perceived as a threat to the rulers. Ergo: Radical ideas must be stamped out in order to maintain the current paradigm, and thus maintain control over how the people perceive, and accept, their lot in life.

This heretic principle appies to the U.F.O. phenomenon. Researchers and scientists who dare to investigate it are the new heretics. The prevailing paradigm preaches that Earth is the only planet with life. And that IF there IS other life in the universe, it is too far away across the gulf of space for "them" to come here for a visit. This concept keeps the idea of alien life at arms length... safe, comfortable, and not too disturbing. So, should a credentialed professional begin to study U.F.O.s in a serious scientific way, he/she becomes a heretic, being ostracised from the scientific community, ridiculed, and even threatened with loss of position and black-listing. The Doctors John E. Mack PhD (Deceased 2004 - R.I.P.), and Roger Lier MD are examples of this.

WHY is there such a vendetta against the UFO community, and any professional who decides to look into these matters? Well, not only does the presently accepted paradigm not allow for the possibility of inter-stellar travel, but imagine the chaos wreaked on our present system should the power source of U.F.O.s, and their method of navigation be revealed to the general public. Big oil would become an anachronism. No longer would we need to burn fossil fuels, polluting our atmosphere with their toxic wastes. Smog, and global warming, would quickly become the stuff of a fading nighmare. Transportation of people and goods, would be transformed almost over night. Starvation, and poverty could be eiliminated. This would shatter the stranglehold that the "ruling elite" have over the world. Free energy, freedom of travel, and material abundance would break their power.

But that isn't the whole story. Collusion of governments the world over in the conspiracy to hide this Eden making information from the people would then come to light. Confidence in governments would collapse, their credibility ruined. The people would come to realise that they had been cheated, kept down, and taken advantage of. They would see that the present way of doing things is not only against their best interests, but that it is actually killing the Earth, making our future as a species doubtful. They could come to the conclusion that the present paradigm only benefits those who seek to cling to the power they have been abusing for so long.

All of these factors, and more, would spell doom for those currently holding the puppet strings. So, for them, it is a matter of survival to crush UFO heresy anywhere and everywhere it shows itself.

Heretics are still being persecuted today, in these so-called modern times. The basic reason behind it hasn't changed one iota. The maintenance of power and control over the many, by the selfish and greedy few.

So much for our enlightened age.

© 2000 JEFF CHALLENDER