COMMENTARY
At
the
very
center
of
the
extraterrestrial
engagement
of
the
human
race
are
the
"contactees"
-
citizens
having
direct
contact
with
extraterrestrials.*
Their
numbers
may
prove
to
be
astoundingly
large.
They
have
had
to
deal
with
their
experience
with
no
support
whatsoever
from
their
government,
and
until
recently,
little
or
no
support
from
family,
friends
or
their
community.
They
include
members
of
every
race,
religion
and
social
strata,
which
means
there
are
contactees
amongst
government
officials,
military
officers,
intelligence
agency
personnel,
college
professors,
scientists,
and
even
members
of
Congress
or
their
staff.
Over
the
past
thirty
years
hundreds
of
thousands
of
contactees
have
come
forward
with
accounts
of
thier
experiences.
Most
of
these
were
in
writing
sent
privately
to
researchers.
Others
have
become
very
public.
Not
surprisingly,
those
of
the
highest
rank
and
station
in
government,
science,
politics,
sports
and
entertainment
are
much
less
likely
to
"come
out
of
the
closet."
Too
much
to
risk.
That
dichotomy
is
slowly
changing.
The
contact
phenomenon
is
THE
most
powerful
and
important
component
of
the
extraterrestrial
engagement.
It
will
pose
a
huge
problem
for
all
governments
post-Disclosure.
That
said,
PRG
has
chosen
to
keep
this
aspect
of
the
ET
reality
in
the
background
as
it
pushes
for
Disclosure.
What
is
sought
by
the
Disclosure
movement
is
the
acknowledgement
of
the
extraterrestrial
presence.
The
details
of
that
presence
will
be
sorted
out
in
the
post-Disclosure
world
to
follow.
PRG
executive
director
Stephen
Bassett's
decision
to
take
on
the
ET
issue
was
greatly
influenced
by
Dr.
John
E.
Mack
and
his
book
Abduction:
Human
Encounters
with
Aliens. He
began
his
journey
at
Dr.
Mack's
Program
for
Extraordinary
Experience
Research
in
Cambridge,
MA.
Contactees
around
the
world
have
been
the
unsung
interface
between
two
worlds.
They
have
had
to
carry
that
burden
alone
abandoned
by
their
own
government.
PRG's
advocacy
work
is
and
always
has
been
dedicated
to
resolving
that
circumstance
so
their
burden
can
be
shared
by
all
seven
billion
humans
on
this
planet.
*
There
is
not
yet
a
consensus
on
the
terminology
for
this
component
of
the
phenomena.
PRG
chooses
to
use
"contactee"
as
the
umbrella
term
covering
all
the
types
of
contact
being
reported.
This
would
include
unrequested,
forced
removal
-
abductees;
requested
contact;
simple
encounters;
communication
via
the
mind
only
-
channelling;
and
other
less
common
modalities.
