(November 19, 2012)
[Please include your first and last names, and your city and state of residence. Thank you.] The UFO Myth: Michael Barker's New Age Flying Objects To the Editor: Good article on the UFO myth. One point I am confused about is how to explain the military personnel that have reported to seeing so many strange things happen to them whilst on duty. Also the many sightings by pilots of strange phenomena and radar sightings of these strange phenomena. I refer to Dr. Steven Greer's Disclosure Project and others... This leads me to think at the bare minimum that where there is smoke there most probably is fire. Appreciate your work. Bruno Tonon Melbourne, Australia - November 6, 2012 ********** New Age and Antiquity: Gilles d'Aymery Old New Age To the Editor: I have followed with much interest the "New Age Special Issue," and I perfectly agree with Gilles d'Aymery that "That thing is as old as antiquity." While I was reading his article, I realized that what is happening nowadays about the spread of the New Age, has already taken place in Athens in the IV century B.C. right after the Peloponnesian War: this conflict ended the Golden Age of the Greek civility and produced a strong cultural discomfort. This was manifested by the detachment between the politician and the philosopher, the man of action and the intellectual. (About this, Plato's experience is meaningful.) In this context, Eastern cults spread (for instance Mother goddess, Adonis, Sabazios) as well as the private worship of a healing god, Asclepius. This phenomenon indicates the alienation of traditional forms of devotion and the research of a new spirituality. Whenever civil and cultural decline occurs, whenever the feeling, that traditional beliefs failed spreads, there is the need to find new ones... It happened to the Greeks too. Gabriele Contino Palermo, Italy - November 7, 2012 ********** Jim Burch and the good work of Beyond War: Gilles d'Aymery Old New Age To the Editor: Mr. d'Aymery refers to a member of the Foundation for Global Community who became the mayor of Palo Alto in the Bay Area. It must be the honorable Jim Burch, a gentleman of great compassion and principles. Please, send him my regards. Beyond War, at the time I met Mr. Burch in the early 1980s, was a genuine organization whose members felt that a nuclear war could happen. It is worth remembering that many pundits and think-tank intellectuals were saying that a nuclear war with the Soviet Union was "winnable." This was a good reason to be concerned. I was, as were all Americans. Beyond War did an incredible work to sensitize the public and policy makers. Over 20,000 people worked on their project. It happens that the Reagan administration had no intention to launch a nuclear war and ignored the ideologues and other wingnuts. So, thankfully we were mistaken. Nevertheless, Beyond War and its members did a great job to educate people in the U.S. and around the world about the dangers of a nuclear war. Their work should not be dismissed. Regards, Darrell Johnson Tempe, Arizona, USA - November 14, 2012 [ed. Sadly, Jim Burch died in November 2011.] ********** We appreciate and welcome your comments. Please, enter in the subject line of your e-mail "letter to the editor," and specify the article or the subject you are commenting on at the beginning of your e-mail. Also, ***PLEASE,*** sign your e-mail with your name ***AND*** add your city, state, country, address, and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Send your comments to the Editor. (Letters may be shortened and edited.) |