Not everyone will agree with this assessment, but after all this is America, and we have the right to speak our beliefs. One has only to remember the sordid history of our government. The lies of Nixon, the waste of human life in Vietnam, insurgency into other country's governments by the CIA, and examples like the recent exposure of the CIA's selling drugs in South Central L.A. to support insurgency and the government's cover-up of nerve gas-exposed service men in the Gulf war.
These are only a few examples of hundreds of examples where the government believes that they know what's best for us. But there no longer exists the "Evil Empire", the cold war is over. And even though there is still a threat out there from many unstable governments and terrorists, how can information about Hale Bopp put us in harm's way?
I can think of only one possible answer to this question.
The other day I happened to be watching the tube and a rerun of "Earthquake" the movie came on. It was kind of funny and I felt nostalgic...so I watched it. One scene showed a Caltech intern confronting the head scientist about a theory that he had come up with. He said based upon his figures, the "big one" was going to hit by such and such a time.
The head of Caltech said,
"What do you expect me to do? Believe a grad student? What do you want me to do, go and call the mayor and the governor and tell them to evacuate the city? We would have panic in the streets! Thousands could be hurt! And what of our credibility? We have worked long and hard for our reputation, and if you're wrong? It'll all go down the drain!"
I was jarred at the similarities.
I began to think of how NASA has struggled financially over the years. A number of times the threat came from congress to shut them down. Many times the public has cried out for their demise. They depend upon our funding to keep them in business. Isn't it interesting that a project that has been on the books for years, to send several probes to study Mars, is preceded several months by the discovery that there has been "life on Mars"!
Now the media cry,
"The probe is going to investigate the recent discovery of life on Mars".
Denial is a powerful defense in our personal psychological arsenals. With at least one head of NASA accused of corruption and a history of tenuous budgets, NASA officials have learned their lesson. Shape and control the public data and their future can be protected. NASA has "grown up" just like many other government agencies.
So how does Hale Bopp fit into this tangled web?
If Hale Bopp is truly a threat, as I do believe it well may be, why on Earth would NASA not want us to know? I believe that they do know that there is a possibility of a threat. If this is so, then to allow this information to be released would not only cause great concern in the public eye, but would threaten their credibility. I believe that many at NASA/JPL are unsure of the threat, so they deny the possibility, believing that their expertise cannot be approached.
And this simply because of a lack of understanding and/or their great investment in pride. In the past few years NASA has invested heavily in the study of the sun and in sum EM fields. Yet they either are not fully understanding them or not releasing the full extent of their knowledge. This understanding or lack there of, may directly relate to the effect of bodies within our Solar System... even the comet Hale Bopp.
Yes, if Hale Bopp does pose a danger to us, and NASA confirmed this fact... the financial markets would fold. Who would continue to invest? Who would buy insurance, stocks and bonds? No one. The world, including that small organization called NASA, would be in chaos. And if we survive Hale Bopp, where would NASA's credibility be? Of course there is that chance that it will pass us by, and what shame would befall NASA if such a prediction failed. But something of this magnitude cannot be concealed too long. And if not Hale Bopp, then when will the next threat come?
What's so wrong about being truthful ?