Incentives to cover-up existence and evidence

It seems that there is always talk of government cover-ups and government suppression of evidence in UFO circles, forums, debates, etc. My question is the following: What incentive does the government have to suppress or cover-up such evidence?

Many claim that the release of such information would “lead to a collapse of civilization as we know it.” I fail to see how this would happen, as new ideas and explanations of the universe come up all the time, hardly destroying civilization. Humanity has incredible adaptability ( or perhaps world leaders don't see it this way?).

Another claim is that visitors have ill intentions. If so, why would government cover it up? Terrorists, of various stripes in various climes, have ill intentions against various peoples, but there is no conspiracy to cover-up their existence – in fact, many world leaders use their existence for political gain. Perhaps this isn’t the best comparison, but if alien visitors do have ill intentions there are many incentives not to cover it up.

Perhaps one reason could be to protect technology procured from other-worldly sources… but this wouldn’t explain why non-US governments would be silent. It seems that governments getting the short-stick from any contact would have an incentive to expose such contact.

Anybody have other conjectures?

Please, don’t misunderstand me as a blind skeptic or lame debunker. I hope I just haven’t put up straw men. I think that there is a high probability that extra-terrestrial life exists and that it may be possible that other-worldly life has visited our planet. I just fail to see the plausability of the traditional rationales for why governments would hide it. Perhaps there are other rationales that I have not read or thought of? Thanks for any input.

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, I searched and found a few threads near this subject, but not exactly taking it head-on in discussion.

Well the bible makes no mention of other races, so it would possibly affect religion in general. Also wouldn't alien beings also possibly have their own beliefs? Conflicts would surely arise with that.



Pie

Interesting ThePieMaN...

But, religion has been coming under fire for years. Scientific evidence against religion (e.g. evolution) hasn't destroyed religion, so I'm not sure if evidence of alien life would destroy it.

This has been a "Conspiracy" for a very long time now. It goes way back, as far as the presidents go and there knowledge of "Priviledged" information. As of the great intergration of the C.I.A., there was a moment where George Herbert Walker Bush let it slip when he was questioned about the UFO practicalities, George replied "You don't know the half of it." I tried to find the story from a source on the internet, but to no avail. When George H.W. Bush was running the cia and in that general begining of the C.I.A. there has been many "Unexplainable" going's on with "Specific" individuals. WHen it came to the UFO disclosure, there were president's that acknowledge it and even a few that were witnesses to a "UFO Sighting", but that is all it amounted to, Our Gov. isn't blind to the truth's as to what's out there and what they know, but on the same page, they definately don't want us to know the facts for "Thier Reason's".
Here is a disclaimer that I pulled up for you showing you that the Gov. has been involved in more than one way with many different thing's of higher conscience, Just check out some of thing's that ahve happened inside our all mighty possession of the "C.I.A." in a short period of time, and then tell me you don't think there is nothing our Gov. is hiding from the general public's eye's.

Directors of Central Intelligence (DCI)
Rear Adm. Sidney W. Souers
Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Rear Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter
Gen. Walter Bedell Smith
Allen Dulles
John McCone?
Vice Adm. William Raborn, Jr.
Richard Helms
James R. Schlesinger
William Colby
George HW Bush
Adm. Stansfield Turner
William Casey
William Webster
Robert Gates
R. James Woolsey
John Deutch
George Tenet

A few of the operations the CIA is suspected of spearheading
The assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Running drugs for profit into U.S. inner cities in order to fund covert operations abroad.
Covering up the reality of UFOs (extra-terrestrial or otherwise).
Leaking selected details of Watergate in order to depose Richard Nixon.
Assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
Assassinating Martin Luther King.
Assassinating U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
Assassinating Malcolm X.

They want you to think exactly the way you are."Deny Ignorance".

Originally posted by ArbitraryGuy
Anybody have other conjectures?

When it comes to National Security and keeping secrets, there are two things you absolutely don't want "the other guy" to know. First, you don't want them to know what you know. Second, you don't want them to know what you don't know.

Aside from what John Lear might believe, I think that the military is probably about 95 percent in the dark as to what UFOs are, where they're from, how they work, and what they're doing here. So they basically would rather keep quiet about it and let the other guy guess as to how much they know. Have we reverse-engineered a UFO to create an unbeatable superweapon? Well, maybe we have, and maybe we haven't. Do you feel lucky, punk?

So along with keeping quiet about it, maybe you throw out a little disinformation, too. Just to keep everybody on their toes.

[edit on 28-6-2006 by Enkidu]

I typed it out before, but the whole issue comes down to control. Society may not crumble, but the influx of new radical ideas and ways of life extraterrestrials may lead could potentially end our current governments. Even if ETs have no better way of life, their advanced technology would certainly revolutionize our society even moreso than it is today. Perhaps to a point that our governments would be in effect as useless or superfluous as an abacus is to a computer.

Time and again in human history primitive civilizations have been assimilated into more advanced ones. Either by force or by choice, usually force.

Those who are in control on this planet certainly aren't about to give it up.

Originally posted by Allred5923
...
Our Gov. isn't blind to the truth's as to what's out there and what they know, but on the same page, they definately don't want us to know the facts for "Thier Reason's".
...

Yeah, there's no denying that the CIA has been involved in many black operations and conspiracies. I guess I'm just asking what people think "their [the CIA's]reasons" for UFO/alien cover-ups may be. I suppose we can't know anything beyond speculation.

Originally posted by Enkidu
...
there are two things you absolutely don't want "the other guy" to know. First, you don't want them to know what you know. Second, you don't want them to know what you don't know.
...

Very interesting point. Thanks.

www.disclosureproject.org will give you all the info you need.

What incentive does the government have to suppress or cover-up such evidence?

Depends on the aliens' motive really, or perceived motive, but there are several. For Mac Brazel in Roswell, in 1947, a shiny new red pickup truck was sufficient motivation to stop talking to the radio stations. For the government, read on...

Many claim that the release of such information would “lead to a collapse of civilization as we know it.” I fail to see how this would happen, as new ideas and explanations of the universe come up all the time, hardly destroying civilization. Humanity has incredible adaptability ( or perhaps world leaders don't see it this way?).

I'd suggest googling on the Brookings Report. This report analyzed the impact of revealing an extraterrestrial presence. The report was sponsored by the US government, and it's official recommendation was not to disclose and for many reasons. A primary one is culture shock and loss of cultural identity. Sure there would be panics, many would not believe in a benign motive. (what kind of nice guy abducts people?) Also, it could mean the collapse of organized religions. Sure, here in the west this may not mean much, but the majority of the world lives a life centered on beliefs. An upset to this could disrupt society on many levels.

Another claim is that visitors have ill intentions. If so, why would government cover it up?

If you were charged with defending and guarding the land, sea and sky, and yet it was discovered that unknowns can visit with impunity and jeapordize this security, would YOU want it known? Especially if you were powerless to do anything about it?

Perhaps one reason could be to protect technology procured from other-worldly sources… but this wouldn’t explain why non-US governments would be silent. It seems that governments getting the short-stick from any contact would have an incentive to expose such contact.

Very true, but then there are some that aren't quiet about it, Mexico, Brazil, and France for example.

Lets see... one reason to deny is as you stated the fear of a collapse. Religion is a major one and economic and civil disruption are the others. What if we asked ET's who they preyed to and their response was an entirely different god or gods? What if the said no god at all. What if they said that they were our gods? With all the religious problems going on in the world today, how many more do you think would arise? Would the Christians, Muslims, Buddhists etc... fight with them and call them infidels and blasphemous? Do you think they would win?

Now economically we would be up the creek without a paddle. Can you imagine the race to obtain the technology by the different countries? Who wouldn't want to be able to get their hands on weaponry and propulsion systems that are millenia ahead of everyone else. How much do you think your government would sink into this? We would sell the shirts off our back to get our hands on such but here is the clincher.... what if their monetary system was way different than ours? Who is to say that every other species in the universe is on one system and we have to adapt? Every currency on Earth would be worth nil. You wouldn't be able to purchase a diaper to change your child!!! Or better yet, what if they don't want money but resources. Gold, water, soil, slave labor!!!!

Which brings us to the civil unrest part. How fast would chaos spread through every city on this planet once news is spread? I can picture mass suicide, rape murder, piliaging, and every other crime you can think of happening in the blink of an eye. You would have to have a strong resolve to not get caught up and just wait for what happens and as we can see through current news events, the majority of us are followers. To break a man you must take away everything that he knows and is familiar with. Once that point is reached though, you must build him back up or he will become what he already is and just forgot he was..... an animal.

I think that it would be like one of those bottlenecks that geneticist talk about that happened thousands of years ago where man was reduced to a small number. The governments fear loss of control over the sheep that they shepherd around blindly. They live off the power they wield and need to hold on to it for as long as they can until the situation can be manipulated.

Thanks for bringing up good points everyone.

Gazrok, at your suggestion, I've taken look at the Brookings Report (not too in depth yet, I'll read more). From what I've seen, it brings up some interesting points, although I don't know how applicable it is now, as a lot has changed in 45 years...

I think people would be more open to the idea now than in the late 50's and early 60's. Perhaps modern cultural/social engineering has conditioned us for an inevitable release of once covered-up contact information?