UFOs, also known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), are at the center of a "watershed moment" in American politics as the community continues to grow, according to some professors and enthusiasts.
"We are living in a watershed moment," Dr. Christopher Bader, a professor at Chapman University, told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Monday, adding that congressional hearings on alien life "have legitimized the discussion of UFOs in a way that is virtually unprecedented."
UFO whistleblower David Grusch intimated that he was threatened to stay silent on secret government programs and records of alien life during a highly publicized July 26 House Oversight Committee hearing.
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Since that hearing, six members of Congress signed an Aug. 21 letter to Inspector General Thomas Monheim to ask for more details on UFO technology and government evidence of extraterrestrial life.
The Wall Street Journal interviewed longtime UFO believers and newcomers into the community, many of whom said they became interested in extraterrestrial life after Grusch gave his explosive testimony to Congress.
"With little green men now a subject of serious scrutiny on Capitol Hill, aliens are taking over the American mind," The Post reported. "Skepticism is declining, with 34% of Americans believing UFOs are probably alien ships or are controlled by nonhuman life-forms in 2022, compared with 20% in 1996, according to polls by YouGov and Newsweek."
Colleges and universities are also taking note of the increased public interest in UFOs.
"Following the release of the U.S. Pentagon UFO report, there has been a surge of interest," a description for a University of Michigan online course titled, "UFOs: Scanning the Skies," reads.
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"We’re trying to build a community where people can come to and talk about these kinds of experiences," 31-year-old UFO enthusiast Mark Way started a UFO discussion group after he heard about whistleblower testimony in front of Congress.
Way continued: "In our group, people are free to talk about whatever they want about these extraordinary encounters that they believe that they’ve had, without anybody ridiculing them or judging them, or dismissing them."
John Shahbazian, a software engineer, said that he was also convinced of the possibility of extraterrestrial life by Grusch and other whistleblowers' testimony in front of Congress.
"I was a Navy JROTC in high school, and I have known military people all my life," he said. "These are not the kind of guys who will jump up and down and scream ‘I saw a UFO.’"
