Ufologist to bring the truth to Western

By: Scott Waldyn

Posted: 11/14/08

On Nov. 18, Western Illinois University's Society of Professional Journalists will sponsor a presentation in the Sandburg Theater by renowned UFO investigator Sam Maranto.

Maranto, state director of the Illinois division of the Mutual UFO Network, an international organization, will present various UFO cases throughout the state, exploring facts of the cases and how these investigations were presented in the media. The ultimate goal of the presentation is to explore why ufology is depicted the way it is by media, diving into how it became that way and shedding light on some of the misinformation conveyed about ufology.

"I think a lot of it is a fear mechanism, a paradigm of protection," Maranto said. "This far into our evolution and our abilities to assemble the greatest forms of communication, and yet we cannot face the truth on certain matters."

Maranto, who has been interested in this field since childhood, attributed the scientific study of UFOs as one of the most important subjects of the modern age.

"I had my first sighting in 1959 as a child," Maranto said. "Something unusual and bright flew over my shoulder in the Fox Lake area. It really startled me. I had no clue what it was."

Having experienced this, the investigator then began to delve into other sightings, reading as much as he could on the topic. This led him deeper into ufology, uncovering a milieu of information.

"There's over 600,000 - some ridiculous figures - government documents on this," Maranto said. "You have witnesses who are coming forward all the time. There, of course, is validity and something more to this. I've seen some of this with my own eyes. I've had five sightings with other people."

Linking all this material together, Maranto felt that at the heart of ufology, there is something much more, something deeper. This study, to him, was a gateway into a scientific mindset to attack the unexplainable and find out more about humanity as a whole.

"We (humans) are far more than science or religion can define us or realize," Maranto said. "We should know more about how our world interacts with us, and it may give us a better idea of who we are, why we are, and what we are.

"You have to ponder about making the big breakthroughs," Maranto said. "They're the ones saying, 'Well, let's look at this differently. It's those people that want to break those trends that eventually are the ones who lead others into a better age of enlightenment all the time and take them out of the darkness of ignorance. I'd like to think I'm a part of that group on many fronts, not just ufology, but waking up on many fronts."

When it comes to presenting at universities, among many other appearances made on radio programs, television shows such as NBC's "Dateline" and lectures at symposiums, Maranto said this message should be spread to those willing to probe further into their world. The idea would be to contrast the media portrayal with the rarely seen accounts witnessed and experienced by countless other people and investigators alike through a different lens; one uncluttered by faulty notions.

"You can't go into this field walking away unscathed," Maranto said. "It's impossible. If you do that, you've done this, walking into this field, with your eyes closed, asleep through the whole experience. You can't be witness to this much material, research this material, experience these many things, look into the eyes of other witnesses' lifetimes in some instances, and walk away stating there's nothing to it.

"You'd have to be numb, both intellectually and on every other scale," Maranto added. "Numb. This is one of the most important subjects to mankind at the very least, and it's made into mockery and made into a joke."