" something tells me you 'could be inclined' to answer yes to all the above questions! "
Actually no.
" Crop circles: Yes, people have come forward but there are many other circles around the world with reports of abnormal radioactivity in the area."
Yes there are. The problem is a few lights are not enough to contribute it to aliens. It also makes for a hell of a story. One might see an airplane or helicopter over their field one night and wake up to a crop circle. Then they think back and say hey, I seen some lights in the sky the night before. I have yet to look in the sky and not see artificial light of some kind.
" When comparing the witch hunts to the modern UFO craze I find that there isn't much to compare. The people in Salem were horrified just from a few girls practical joke, so they went on a rampage across town, killing anyone anyone named as a witch. People didn't want to make life more interesting, they just wanted to get rid of their enemies (easily, I might add)."
It is not just that. Those people actually BELIVED that those that were burned were witches. It is more than they seen a way to kill an enemy. They would draw the obvious conclusion that they were an enemy because they were a witch. It is an example of a situation where people truly believed the completely insane without evidence. It was easy to blame it all on witches and it is easy to blame it all on aliens. Witches gave them an enemy to fight, a little adventure. Aliens give people today a sense of wonder and adventure. There are many parallels.
" We have changed the Earth, and I think every star within fifteen-twenty light years has probably heard a signal from us, I know that's small but it's a start. Plus you can't forget early TV and radio transmissions, they go probably sixty years back."
There are only 32 stars within 15 light-years of us and a little over 1000 50 light-years from us. Out of the 1000 there are only 6 identifiable planets but that number is very likely to be a few magnitudes larger. We have reached very few planets. There also has to be a relatively clear aria to get the signals as well. Most stars are paired leaving a lot of room for interference. I personally believe that SETI is a completely lost cause. It is a noble pursuit but the chances of an undisturbed signal reaching a sentient species that happens to have radio technology at that time and also has the listening equipment is 0. Even if our signals reached a developed planet AND they were listening then they would not have the technology to reach us. What makes everyone believe that a civilization that is so advanced would be using radio waves or have all there devises tuned sensitive enough to hear us.
" you guys can say anything you want about what UFOs are, but you can't rule out the fact that there are aliens (or other life) in the universe. You have no proof."
You are right. As a matter of fact there is plenty of evidence that proves there is other life in the universe. Just none that says it is here.
" unfortunately that's the bitch of the matter. All the proof resides in the governments hands. (I almost feel like quoting the Matrix, but I'll spare everyone) sooner or later we'll have to force them to release it."
The truth is the government has no proof. It is the most horrible keeper of secrets there is. They have such a bloated infrastructure and the worst system for classification there is. The government basically classifies everything and prays that you will overlook the important stuff. There is no big brother and there is no secret section of the government that is hiding all this super technology. The funny part is the fact is overlooked that the government can't actually build anything on its own. Everything is contracted out to companies that are given the technology to build what they need. Conspiracy theories are always so funny.
Actually no.
" Crop circles: Yes, people have come forward but there are many other circles around the world with reports of abnormal radioactivity in the area."
Yes there are. The problem is a few lights are not enough to contribute it to aliens. It also makes for a hell of a story. One might see an airplane or helicopter over their field one night and wake up to a crop circle. Then they think back and say hey, I seen some lights in the sky the night before. I have yet to look in the sky and not see artificial light of some kind.
" When comparing the witch hunts to the modern UFO craze I find that there isn't much to compare. The people in Salem were horrified just from a few girls practical joke, so they went on a rampage across town, killing anyone anyone named as a witch. People didn't want to make life more interesting, they just wanted to get rid of their enemies (easily, I might add)."
It is not just that. Those people actually BELIVED that those that were burned were witches. It is more than they seen a way to kill an enemy. They would draw the obvious conclusion that they were an enemy because they were a witch. It is an example of a situation where people truly believed the completely insane without evidence. It was easy to blame it all on witches and it is easy to blame it all on aliens. Witches gave them an enemy to fight, a little adventure. Aliens give people today a sense of wonder and adventure. There are many parallels.
" We have changed the Earth, and I think every star within fifteen-twenty light years has probably heard a signal from us, I know that's small but it's a start. Plus you can't forget early TV and radio transmissions, they go probably sixty years back."
There are only 32 stars within 15 light-years of us and a little over 1000 50 light-years from us. Out of the 1000 there are only 6 identifiable planets but that number is very likely to be a few magnitudes larger. We have reached very few planets. There also has to be a relatively clear aria to get the signals as well. Most stars are paired leaving a lot of room for interference. I personally believe that SETI is a completely lost cause. It is a noble pursuit but the chances of an undisturbed signal reaching a sentient species that happens to have radio technology at that time and also has the listening equipment is 0. Even if our signals reached a developed planet AND they were listening then they would not have the technology to reach us. What makes everyone believe that a civilization that is so advanced would be using radio waves or have all there devises tuned sensitive enough to hear us.
" you guys can say anything you want about what UFOs are, but you can't rule out the fact that there are aliens (or other life) in the universe. You have no proof."
You are right. As a matter of fact there is plenty of evidence that proves there is other life in the universe. Just none that says it is here.
" unfortunately that's the bitch of the matter. All the proof resides in the governments hands. (I almost feel like quoting the Matrix, but I'll spare everyone) sooner or later we'll have to force them to release it."
The truth is the government has no proof. It is the most horrible keeper of secrets there is. They have such a bloated infrastructure and the worst system for classification there is. The government basically classifies everything and prays that you will overlook the important stuff. There is no big brother and there is no secret section of the government that is hiding all this super technology. The funny part is the fact is overlooked that the government can't actually build anything on its own. Everything is contracted out to companies that are given the technology to build what they need. Conspiracy theories are always so funny.