April 24, 2000

(First published in the April 2000 issue of UFO Magazine)

Washington, DC – Sitting in the press room behind the House Chamber listening to President Clinton, the thought emerges, “this is the 53^rd State of the Union Address delivered in joint session to the members of Congress since July of 1947, and like all others before, it will have no reference whatsoever to the most important circumstance in human history – the presence of extraterrestrial life forms in our world.” 

The politics of disclosure is a call to citizens to step forward and assert their will upon their government at a time when many would see little justification to do so.  Such an initiative has no chance to succeed unless the public is absolutely clear as to why.

Our constitutional republic has flourished for many reasons, none more important than the system of checks and balances embedded in its founding documents.   Three branches of government – legislature, judiciary, executive - in constant dynamic tension, each preventing the other from undermining the nation’s fundamental values to the point of irreparable damage. 

That system was later enhanced by the emergence of the often-criticized two-party structure.  Should ever the party in control attempt to take the nation off the deep end, the other party, fully constituted and equal in power, is always there to yank the nation back from the brink.

As Paul Simon wrote, “…we’ve lived so well so long.”  So well the nation finds itself at the beginning of the 21^st century and 3^rd millennium as the preeminent political, economic and military power in the world.  But something is wrong, terribly wrong.  In an almost subliminal manner, the American people demonstrate that perception in a number of ways. Two are notable. 

The first is divided government.   There have been 27 congressional terms since January of 1947.  Of the first eleven terms, seven had the same party controlling the Presidency, House and Senate – 64%.  Since January 1969, the peak of the Vietnam War, there have been 16 congressional terms.  Only three have had unified leadership – 19%. 

The second is more disconcerting.  During a 30 years ascendancy of American wealth and prestige, polls have shown that, oddly, trust in government has decreased dramatically since 1970 from around 80% to as low as 20% in the last decade.  

Is the reason for these two manifestations of public perception serious?  Yes, and the populist UFO/ET research effort has opened a window into the heart the problem.

The founders of our political system were aware of large commercial (corporate) entities.  After all, the British East India Company had been a major component of colonial empire building, exercising enormous and excessive political influence.  They understood the ability of armies to influence government and that the two were not averse to combining forces.

And while they would have certainly been in awe of the extraordinary size of modern multi-national corporations and militaries, they would have understood.  But what they did not, could not foresee was the rise of the “Secret Empire” – the massive, pervasive, interconnecting intelligence wing of what President and General Dwight D. Eisenhower termed the “Military Industrial Complex.” 

It consists of billions of “black budget” dollars, millions of classified documents, hundreds of thousands of classified personnel, thousands of covert programs and dozens of intelligence agencies.   The crown jewel at the center of the Secret Empire is the management of contact between our world and extraterrestrial life forms, perhaps helping to drive the growth of such secrecy.

The checks and balances developed over 224 years that have served well, were not designed to properly control the activities of such a complex.  As a result, it has evolved a mindset that bred abuse of power and warped the relationships between other components of government. 

This set of attitudes views the public as an irritant to be endured rather than sovereign citizens to be served, the Congress as an interfering group of bumblers to be circumvented, the President as a transient civilian to be kept in or out of the loop at their discretion, and the media as a propaganda tool to be manipulated with misinformation and coercion. 

Over time this mindset metastasized from the defense intel groups to the civilian enforcement agencies such as the FBI, ATF and IRS.  New abuses took place, past egregious acts were uncovered, and distrust continued to grow. 

The American people now face a most difficult task.  With an intensity not seen since the Vietnam War movement, they must demand accountability from their government.  There will be no body bags coming home to bury, no television coverage of battle, no immediate threat to life plans of young adults.  Life is good.   Income is up, unemployment down, inflation down, and the pursuit of happiness is in full swing.

The UFO/ET movement has generated information relating to the intentions and methodologies of this Secret Empire.  The interested public, now numbering in the millions, must take that information to their fellow citizens, command the audience microphones at the political debates and make the case for secrecy reform and open government.  In the process the world will learn of the extraordinary truth surrounding extraterrestrial phenomena.

There are certainly those who do not accept this analysis.  They see no reason to challenge their government in such matters. To them, some modest advice.  Go to your local video store and become very familiar with two movies – one from the decade when trust in government began its long decline and the other from the decade in which the Secret Empire saw it greatest growth – Seven Days in May and 1984.

*    Disclosure as used here has specific meaning, that being “formal acknowledge by the    government of  the United States of an extraterrestrial presence in our world, now.”

Copyright © 2000 Stephen Bassett