Aliens and America’s Crisis in Meaning

“What gives? Why are people so eager to believe wild tales despite a lack of hard, clear evidence?”

A growing number of Americans believe extraterrestrial beings are behind unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings. According to YouGov, in 1996, only 20% of Americans believed UFOs were aliens. By 2022, the number jumped to 34%. With the recent UFO hearings before a House Oversight subcommittee, this number will undoubtedly increase further.

All the while, true skeptics of alien visitation have not budged an inch. They maintain that, despite the Netflix documentaries and newspaper headlines about aliens, there still is no real evidence of aliens on Earth. There are grainy photographs, mysterious government programs, and credible-seeming government personnel who claim to have seen or heard things, but there is still no hard evidence. None.

Every time a new flare-up of public interest in aliens occurs, the skeptic Michael Shermer will inevitably post a quick retort, something in the spirit of: “Just show us the spacecraft & aliens. Please, prove my skepticism wrong!” Elon Musk, who presumably would know something on this topic as the owner of SpaceX and Starlink, is equally unmoved on this topic, saying simply, “I’ve seen no evidence of aliens.”

Unsurprisingly, skeptics also remain unconvinced by claims of the existence of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. These are other stories driven by grainy photos and witness testimony. Yet, similar to aliens, belief in the Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster is similarly on the rise in recent years.