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Main Question or Discussion Point
If you chose other please explain.
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Would the government tell us about UFOs?
- Thread starter einsteinian77
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At this point two people said other but didn't care to explain.
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I can't believe:
render a cover up is on first place...
what are you people afraid the aliens will suck your brain and transform you in mineral gathering slaves???
render a cover up is on first place...
what are you people afraid the aliens will suck your brain and transform you in mineral gathering slaves???
Njorl
Science Advisor
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Well, I know the first thing I'd do if I travelled to another inhabited planet is look for some sentient lifeforms to eat!
Yummmm, sentient goodness....
Njorl
Yummmm, sentient goodness....
Njorl
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I think it would be interesting to hear arguments why someone would vote one way or the other.
I voted that the government should let everyone know aliens exist if they were discovered. If we are in any danger, we have a right to know. If we are safe then what's the harm in knowing. If it is too difficult to tell whether we are safe or in danger then letting the public know will allow a more thorough investigation of what our visitors' intentions are.
I voted that the government should let everyone know aliens exist if they were discovered. If we are in any danger, we have a right to know. If we are safe then what's the harm in knowing. If it is too difficult to tell whether we are safe or in danger then letting the public know will allow a more thorough investigation of what our visitors' intentions are.
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If the government did find aliens,whether the aliens were peaceful or not, I think people would go into mass hysteria creating riots and sheer chaos all around the world. This is why I chose b. Only people who are open-minded and intelligent have right to know, and society as a whole is far from being intelligent and open-minded.
russ_watters
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That isn't what the question asked. The question asked what we thought the government would do. The default position of any government is to ignore or cover up any piece of information it can't understand or adequately deal with.
However, given the nature of the information, a coverup would be extrordinarily difficult. So the "other" category would be that the other two are not applicable.
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Depends what actually happened.
If aliens landed in times square and announced themselves to all of New York City, then the coverup would be hard, but if the Govt. found a dead alien in a ship, no problem at all.
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and how do you know which one is open-minded and intelligent? have you discovered some magic test to do that? or do you let the government choose them?
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should was not the question, it was would.
I agree with wasteofo2.
I chose B and agree with einsteinian77, because what he said is right, but he left out something. "Only open-minded and intelligent people should have the right to know", but since we can't tell who they are, it is beter to not let anyone know. Of course I'd prefer if most of America wasn't of such a fragile mind so I could know too, but it is better than wide spread looting.
Nereid
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
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other, with reasons
OK, I'm #3 other.
In a case like this, there would be no such single entity as 'government'; in fact, there never is.
The discovery would have to be made by some person (or persons) who would have informed others with more senior ranks. Before too long, the 'discovery' would be known by 10, 30, 100 people. People who work for 'the government' are no different from PF members and guests, and among 100 or so, there'd be some fierce disagreements as to what to do, resulting - before a week was out - in at least one person leaking the story in some way (not necessarily to the press). If there were more than one person who'd acted, then we could say there was a split in the government. How then could we answer either a or b?
OK, I'm #3 other.
In a case like this, there would be no such single entity as 'government'; in fact, there never is.
The discovery would have to be made by some person (or persons) who would have informed others with more senior ranks. Before too long, the 'discovery' would be known by 10, 30, 100 people. People who work for 'the government' are no different from PF members and guests, and among 100 or so, there'd be some fierce disagreements as to what to do, resulting - before a week was out - in at least one person leaking the story in some way (not necessarily to the press). If there were more than one person who'd acted, then we could say there was a split in the government. How then could we answer either a or b?
russ_watters
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Re: other, with reasons
I get the impression sometimes that people forget that people in government are human too.
I agree, and this was my point, einsteinian77(though I didn't explain it). If two people know it, its not a secret.
I get the impression sometimes that people forget that people in government are human too.
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"I get the impression sometimes that people forget that people in the government are human too."
Thats my point, I think that the people in the government would look out for people in the best way. By telling the whole world that aliens have been discovered could do a whole lot of harm.
I would think that, as people working for the government, they would think about the consequences before any of them start leeking such a huge discovery.
Thats my point, I think that the people in the government would look out for people in the best way. By telling the whole world that aliens have been discovered could do a whole lot of harm.
I would think that, as people working for the government, they would think about the consequences before any of them start leeking such a huge discovery.
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nice thoughts. where de you live, Neverland?
Njorl
Science Advisor
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The government could never keep it quiet. There would always be a few people talking about it. The question is, will these people with loose lips be believed? A clever, secretive government would prepare ahead of time. They would sow the seeds of doubt by making many UFO hoaxes of varying degrees of discreditability. That way when the real thing happened, they could easily attribute it as just another hoax. 
Njorl
Njorl
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"nice thoughts. here do you live, neverland?"
Isn't that what the government does, govern the country?
Isn't that what the government does, govern the country?
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Governments eat cheezy poofs.
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you sound like a cheezy poof
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As in the crunching or as in the acidic melting of small pockets of trapped air?
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I'd have to say as in the crunching, could be both though
russ_watters
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Government does govern, but thats not what you said. You said "would look out for people in the best way" which is far from the same thing. Ideally, thats what they do. In reality...no.
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So what do they do in "Reality"?
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If aliens did arrive, the governments will probably reveal it, though only after assessing for themselves what is going on.
It is more favourable to release information in a controlled manner, than to allow exaggerated rumours to leak out, and fears to grow out of ignorance.
It is more favourable to release information in a controlled manner, than to allow exaggerated rumours to leak out, and fears to grow out of ignorance.
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I really didn't have anything intelligent to post on this topic, so I kind of snapped.
The goverment is watching me. Wants to use me for my mental gurth! But I fight them off with my AFDB and anti-psychotronic toaster!
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Anti-psychotronic toaster? Sounds an awful lot like a weapon of mass destruction to me... and it also seems like the perfect weapons to use to bribe the world for $1 million dollars.