The Alien Abduction Myth: Surrogate Spirituality
Offline 1. Alien abduction mythology is memetic: it is a thought contagion.
2. Alien abduction mythology is a surrogate spirituality, just like new age mysticism.
3. Most alien abduction "experiences" follow a fairly typical pattern which is observed in media representations of said "experiences." It is enshrined in popular culture. Anyone who has seen "Taken" or the "X-Files" can construct an elaborate abduction scenario on command.
4. Taking a meme's eye view, we can think of the alien abduction phenomenon as a co-adapted meme complex, or memeplex, much like specific religious belief systems (Catholicism, Orisha Worship, Neo-Paganism, Fundamentalist Christianity, etc...). The memes, woven together, support each other within the memeplex. It is thus a self-sufficient system of belief that does not rely on scientific evidence.
5. Most developed industrial regions, including Asia, North America, and mainland Europe, have their own variations of the abduction myth. The Greys, while ubiquitous in the America, take a backseat to other types of alien creatures which seem to correlate geographically. Ask yourself a question: if all of it is true, why then do "Zeta Reticulans" seem particularly interested in the US and Canada to the exclusion of most everyone beyond North America? Such variation in mythology is temporal as well as geographical: before the "Roswell Grey-type" reports, when little green men were considered the staple intergalactic visitor, most close encounters were attributed to them. Now that the Greys are in, we see that American and Canadian "contactees" describe variations of Greys. Similarly, mechanical beings were at one time nearly ubiquitous in the UK, perhaps due to the popularity of the Daleks and Cybermen of Dr. Who. Alien visitors to the US and Canada, however, tend to closely resemble humanoids from American TV shows like Star Trek and Star Gate, and Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind.
6. I am not suggesting that so-called "abductees" are liars. I think many of them truly believe what they claim to have experienced, but that their sense of reason and objectivity has indeed been overridden by a particularly virulent thought contagion which is so pervasive as to demand far more respect for our society than it deserves, especially when a closer look reveals the typical abduction experience to be largely a disguised spiritual experience.
“It is true that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. It is equally true that in the land of the blind, the two-eyed man is an enemy of the state, the people, and domestic tranquility… and necessarily so. Someone has to rearrange the furniture.”
-Marvin W. Raycliff, from my novel-in-progress
"That's where you're wrong: I'm under no obligation to respect your beliefs. I respect people and I respect facts."
-Lillian Keighn, from my novel-in-progress
Yes. It is.
Ok. I'll conditionally agree, though I notice that many people believe this in addition to new age mysticism and other quasi-religions.
Yes. It's not unlike the way people who have NDEs seem to see their own god so often.
I love this whole post. Great job.
Yep. And they're all anthropomorphic in some way... just like gods.
And so, it is the same as religion in the way it spreads, and the way it 'infects' the normally functioning brain. Great post. Thanks!
(On a personal note, Hawkeye is probably my favorite character from a 30 minute TV show... ever.)
Credulity is much easier to sustain when we've been taught that facts are things to be memorized and repeated, rather than sought out and discovered.
-- Me
I'd have to say that in addition to Plato, Darwin, and Marx, Hawkeye Pierce has provided some of the greatest philosophical and moral commentary in history. Did you know Alan Alda is an atheist who's been awarded for promoting the public understanding of science?
“It is true that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. It is equally true that in the land of the blind, the two-eyed man is an enemy of the state, the people, and domestic tranquility… and necessarily so. Someone has to rearrange the furniture.”
-Marvin W. Raycliff, from my novel-in-progress
"That's where you're wrong: I'm under no obligation to respect your beliefs. I respect people and I respect facts."
-Lillian Keighn, from my novel-in-progress
Where are all the Third World alien abductees? As far as I know, the bulk if not all of these abduction stories come fromt he Developed, Industrialized countries. I suppose we in the First World have the economic luxury of being able to indulge in superfluous thought contagions.
“It is true that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. It is equally true that in the land of the blind, the two-eyed man is an enemy of the state, the people, and domestic tranquility… and necessarily so. Someone has to rearrange the furniture.”
-Marvin W. Raycliff, from my novel-in-progress
"That's where you're wrong: I'm under no obligation to respect your beliefs. I respect people and I respect facts."
-Lillian Keighn, from my novel-in-progress