As To The Stars /To The Stars Academy Of Arts and Science continues to make waves in the UFO world, there continues to be a vocal group of detractors that seem to constantly criticize anything TTS does. Even with Luis Elizondo’s recent positively-received convention appearances, and the announcement of a six-part documentary series called “Unidentified” on the History Channel , the TTS trolls are still in full.
Now it is perfectly acceptable to look at everything with a skeptical eye, question everything, and be weary since many have been burned before in this field with promises of “disclosure.” The division and jadedness within the UFO community has been well-documented before the TTS days, and at best many felt cautiously optimistic about TTS initial announcements and formation. The business model still is to be desired, and there are questions still to be answered, but let’s look ways to make sense in the face of the backlash.
In terms of literary devices there are three ways to evoke a point in an argument; ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos deals with the credibility and expertise of the source, pathos are emotional appeals, and logos deals with logic and evidence.
In journalism we tend to trust official sources because the “official tag” associated even if deep down we know the government doesn’t always tell the truth, so when you use an official as a source and they aren’t telling the truth then it reflects on them rather the reporter. Let’s look at the credibility of the the academy starting with its head Tom DeLonge. We have all heard the usual rants about “what does a rock star know?” “Why should we trust him” “OMG Tom posted a faked photo”, etc. DeLonge is passionate and at times doesn’t think before he posts, but he knows his stuff, and respected names in the UFO world like Peter Levenda and Jacques Vallee have bought in. The rest of the academy is highlighted by Jim Semivan (ex-CIA),Dr. Hal Puthoff (CEO of Earth Tech International), Steve Justice (ex-Lockheed Martin), Chris Mellon (former National Security Adviser), and of course Elizondo (ex-Department of Defense).
All of them have walked away from their successful, lucrative and stable careers to pursue this, as Elizondo noted at a recent convention in Alabama that he left his career full of retirement, benefits, steady pay and security for TTS. DeLonge walked away from one of the biggest bands in the world in attempt to facilitate change. DeLonge’s last few shows with blink-182 were some of the largest in his career that included over 100,000 people at the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds festival, and his final show in Las Vegas at Wine Amplified, which I actually attended not knowing at the time it would be DeLonge’s last with the pop-punk powerhouse.
There are risks associated with this venture, so they wouldn’t be taking it if they didn’t think it would be worth it. If they are in it for the money, then where has TTS made any real money yet? DeLonge isn’t and at no point was in any financial distress; he still maintains part of his ownership to the brand of blink-182. TTS isn’t a cash grab, and it’s not meant to “sell T-shirts,” which was an actual belief by one Ufologist.
At face value, ethically let’s say we trust the credibility of the people associated with TTS. From an emotional (pathos) standpoint many of us want TTS to work, and others simply do not. We get emotionally upset when TTS announcements aren’t exactly what WE expect/want, or deliver on some fantasy promise of full disclosure that was never promised in the first place. On both sides of the argument many have emotional investments in all of this, so it is easy to see why so many would get worked up to defend DeLonge and co., and others to cry “UFOtainment!” when TTS big March announcement was a TV show.
Logically (logos) it is hard to paint a full picture because TTS is still a work in progress ,but we do know that they have launched the A.D.A.M.S research project, have claimed to have in their possession meta materials that are being tested, along with the New York Times pushed the Pentagon UFO story to mainstream exposure, and all the multi-media promises DeLonge has promised are slowly coming to fruition. The jury is still out in terms of hard evidence and logos, since we don’t have data yet and analysis is currently underway. Elizondo has pushed that patience is key, and the UFO community needs to just do that. These things take time, resources, funding and other moving parts to factor in to the total equation of what the academy is trying to do especially with the scientific study scope of TTS. Be patient.
“But they are all lying to us as part of disinformation campaign!?”
OK, so all these guys left their professional careers to be part of a huge conspiracy to tease the truth and lie to the public? Does this make logical sense? Now this isn’t ignoring history like the MJ-12 and other disinformation campaigns, but use some common sense.
If at worst TTS doesn’t become the grandiose aeorspace company DeLonge envisions, and we get books, TV documentaries, and the results of A.D.A.M.S research project reveal some material not of this Earth, then this is not a loss. If Harry Reid and other former and current officials push for more transparent Congressional UFO discussion then isn’t this a partial disclosure, and better than nothing at all?
A lot of these arguments have been made here before and elsewhere, but need to be repeated in the face of the same consistent nitpicks.
-By MIKE DAMANTE