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Introduction
Despite an intense interest in the UFO phenomenon and its implications since I was ten years old, I have declined to join MUFON or any other organization that has the acronym "UFO" in its name. I have long been uncomfortable with the idea that we can learn much of significance about a distant civilization by exclusively studying its vehicles and methods of propulsion. The overwhelming preponderance of evidence gathered by MUFON and related researchers leads inexorably to the conclusion that many "UFOs" are the craft of extraterrestrial beings. It has seemed to me that by essentially limiting research to the study of these enigmatic craft and the technologies involved, MUFON has been all about the study of "cars." Frankly, I am rather bored by vehicles-but I am intensely interested in those who drive them.
To get an update on rumored positive changes within the organization, I finally decided to set aside my prejudices and experience a MUFON symposium for myself. My report follows, in four parts.
Part One: The MUFON Conundrum
While public surveys repeatedly demonstrate that a growing majority of people accept the reality of UFOs, it is ironic that organizations devoted to studying the phenomenon continue to decline. A striking example is MUFON International (the Mutual UFO Network), the oldest and largest surviving citizen-based research organization of its kind, whose ranks have steadily dwindled in recent years to some 3,500 members.
Since its birth in 1969, MUFON has struggled to distance itself from the fringe of UFO interest and overcome the "giggle factor" by positioning itself as a legitimate research effort whose mission is "the scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humankind." To do this, the organization has adopted a two-fold research strategy: training and organizing a grass-roots cadre of volunteer field investigators to document sightings, debrief witnesses, and file reports; and recruiting an impressive advisory group mainly comprised of PhDs and MDs who provide expertise in numerous disciplines (and hopefully some measure of scientific legitimacy).
The premise of this approach is that UFOs represent a "complex scientific dilemma." This orientation drives the primary activities of the organization, which focus on sightings investigation and the creation of a massive body of evidence. This has produced a fundamental quandary for MUFON, summed up succinctly by International Director and longtime aerospace consultant John Schuessler at the organization's 35th annual symposium in Denver, July 16-18: "There is more evidence than any of us can deal with."
According to Schuessler, in a 35-year attempt to prove that UFOs are real, technological and "not ours," MUFON has amassed such a large collection of data ("sixteen file cabinets full of UFO reports") that virtually no one is able to adequately mine this extensive database in order to "connect the dots" and draw definitive conclusions.
In his theme-setting presentation, entitled "Unconventional Flying Objects: The Body of Technological Evidence," Schuessler detailed the legal characteristics of evidence, such as first-hand knowledge, expert testimony, witness competency, authentication, official written statements-which, if presented adroitly, can add up to subjective "proof." But proof of what, exactly (throughout his presentation, Schuessler was very careful never to utter the words "alien" or "extraterrestrial")? And who requires this proof other than the skeptics, who will never be convinced because they choose not to examine the voluminous evidence?
After more than fifty years of UFO study, it is more than apparent that the phenomenon is real. But much more challenging and increasingly urgent questions remain: What does it mean? Why are they here? How should humanity respond? These are questions that MUFON is most reluctant to address (and indeed they cannot be answered on a purely scientific or technological basis), which may be part of the reason why membership continues to decline.
Meanwhile, MUFON relentlessly presses forward with its data collection, in an attempt to finally prove the reality of UFOs. For instance, Schuessler spoke wistfully of Project Pandora, the organization's centerpiece strategy for making its vast "database" (once it's all been scanned into digital format) searchable by researchers. However, lamenting that the process will be staggeringly costly and time-consuming, he said: "At the rate we're going, it will take forty years."
Here in Colorado, it is undeniable that the Rocky Mountains continue to hold an abundance of precious metals like gold and silver. However, the cost of extracting and refining ore is prohibitive, so the majority of the wealth remains landlocked. So it is with Project Pandora.
Another telling case is MUFON's infamous Abduction Transcription Project, arguably the world's most comprehensive compilation of testimony from alien abductees, painstakingly compiled from hundreds of victims by more than twenty abduction researchers. You haven't heard of this study? You'd like to read the report? Don't hold your breath. The project began in 1992 and continues to languish and may never see the light of day.
Meanwhile, it seems that much of the public has long since accepted the obvious conclusion of the reality of the UFO phenomenon and no longer requires the "proof" that MUFON investigators and researchers seem so anxious to deliver. As Schuessler admits, "The American people are saying UFOs are real-and that somebody's lying to us."
The tragedy of MUFON is that it stoically sits on a mountain of data that could be highly valuable in expanding our understanding of the nature and intentions of the beings who fly the "UFOs" in our skies and interfere in human lives. Thus, the challenge of connecting the dots and reaching conclusions continues to go unmet. As Schuessler says, "It's never going to get done just with volunteers."
From all appearances at its Denver symposium, MUFON continues to be in the business of amassing evidence, but steadfastly avoids all conclusions or even inferences from the data. Worse, the evidence is so massively unwieldy as to be inaccessible.
"Proof" of the reality and meaning of the UFO phenomenon requires a willingness (and ability) to thoroughly examine the evidence and draw conclusions-hard work that skeptics naturally avoid. Thus the "proof" is never seen. This is a conundrum that has MUFON caught in a downward spiral.
Oddly, MUFON has now declared that calling UFOs "unidentified" is no longer appropriate, for according to Schuessler the organization has produced conclusive evidence that "UFOs are not airplanes, rockets, planets, weather balloons, space debris, ball lightning, remnants of comets or meteorites, or constructs of the imagination." Now he prefers to call the phenomenon "unconventional" flying objects, meaning that they defy conventional explanation. Well, of course they do. But MUFON will not dare to offer an unconventional explanation of the phenomenon; instead, they simply continue to collect more data.
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