The truth is out there (6/25/08)

By: Scott Waldyn

Posted: 7/2/08

Ufologists and residents from Illinois and abroad descended upon the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Tinley Park June 22 for the second UFO Symposium hosted by the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and the Illinois chapter of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).

This symposium, titled "Truth... If You Dare," featured lectures by investigative journalist Donald Schmitt, Illinois MUFON state director Sam Maranto and historian Richard Dolan. All three offered different presentations that engaged audiences to probe beyond mainstream media treatment of ufology, stating facts and theories meant to educate and challenge the preconceptions of visitors.

"I think symposia like this are very important because they present the subject to the general public at a level of discourse that you don't necessarily get on the Internet and on the magazines on the stands," said Bill Murphy, former State Director of Michigan MUFON, who was in attendance to support the Illinois chapter of the international organization.

Before joining MUFON, Murphy was introduced to the organization through a student while teaching a college history course. He said he was surprised after attending his first meeting at how serious the often-ridiculed subject was treated by intelligent people from various fields of study.

"The topic may seem outrageous, but the people and the way that the subject was being discussed resonated with (my wife and me)," Murphy said. "It was intelligent people discussing in an intelligent way, a very unusual subject."

MUFON, a scientific, nonprofit research organization founded in 1969, is dedicated to investigating and resolving the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects. Spanning the globe, MUFON is composed and supported by volunteers of various fields, from nuclear physicists to famed actors such as Dan Aykroyd. For Maranto, who presented a lecture on a specific incident outside of Minneapolis, MUFON is a collaboration of many different people interested in learning the truth.

"MUFON means, first of all, people with similar beliefs working together," Maranto said. "We all have different interpretations of this phenomenon and everything else associated with it, but one thing we do have is a common ground and respect for each other's opinions and perspectives. We don't want believers, per se; we want people to know. We want people to explore and formulate thought and question."

"Intelligent people are experiencing extraordinary phenomenon - life-changing experiences of truly unusual events - and these things need to be researched," Murphy added. "Apparently, the government doesn't want to look at them, and in the absence of strong medical organization interest and the absence of any other group out there, MUFON seems to be one of the best ways to investigate this phenomenon."

At the symposium, the lecturers gave their own personal glimpses of this world to those in attendance.

Schmitt, researcher and co-author of "Witness to Roswell," among other books, has been studying the 1947 Roswell incident for the past 20 years. A former UFO skeptic himself, Schmitt argued his case in a presentation titled "Clarity of the Roswell Facts vs. the Skeptic Spin." Here, he recalled his first of many trips to New Mexico, tracking down witnesses to the incident, which he said made him a believer.

The researcher pieced together facts of the case from 600 testimonies and government documents on the subject, providing his personal theory that a cover-up was perpetrated to provide a "buffer zone" for the military to rid themselves of a panic over such an extraordinary event.

Schmitt also noted that he believed the military still doesn't know what it holds in their hands. Theories aside, the author was adamant that the crash was of extraterrestrial origins.

"I stand before you representing over 600 people we (Schmitt and co-author Thomas Carey) interviewed who said it wasn't any weather balloon, wasn't any crash dummy, but something not manufactured on this Earth," Schmitt said.

Dolan, the keynote speaker for the symposium, took a different route in his lecture, "The Challenges of UFO Disclosure." Author of "UFOs and the National Security State," the historian offered attendees a three-part slideshow presentation discussing the importance of UFOs, the secrecy of the subject and personal thoughts on the alien visitors, utilizing an approach from his background in politics and history.

"What drew me into the UFO topic was a very simple question," Dolan said. "It's not 'are they real.' It was much more basic than that. It was, was this ever a valid topic of history? Was this something that our national security leadership was ever truly interested in? I got into this topic wanting to know the answer to that one single question. Was this something as part of our national history? And the answer to that question, to me, is yes, absolutely, it is. Of course, once you answer that question, a lot of follow-up questions arise, such as, 'Well, why?'"

Near the end of his presentation, the author noted how he viewed this topic as one of monumental importance, something he described as being "explosive" and revolutionary once the truth is uncovered.

"The biggest challenge for me was when I got to the realization that I found a legitimate topic," Dolan said. "It opened up a completely new mental world."

Maranto, who closed the symposium, presented information concerning a case from Sept. 24, 2004. He showed photographs and related events of a case still under investigation by MUFON regarding a couple's encounter with extraterrestrials.

"We feel rather certain that this case will be one of the best documented cases of photographic, video-taped trace evidence of an up close and personal experience of possible extraterrestrial entities," Maranto said.

A teaser video of the encounter, known as "Incident at Cooper's Corner" is available on YouTube. Information regarding the next symposium can be found by contacting Maranto at mufonsam@comcast.net. It is scheduled for Aug. 17 at the same location. Guests will include pioneer of UFO research Stanton Friedman and Ted Phillips.