Caitlin+B's+OpEd+Article



media type="file" key="caityb-muckraker-2011.mp3" align="center" **Extraterrestrial Uncertainty** Ever lie awake at night wondering if there’s something unidentifiable just outside your window? I have. Have you ever walked away from an alien movie and worry about how accurate it might be? I have. Do you ever lose sleep going over the logistics of just how possible an alien invasion is? I have. I absolutely hate the idea of something coming to Earth just to eat our brains, use our blood to fuel their machines and use our water to nourish their inhuman physiques. Never has there been an alien movie where the human race hasn’t been taken advantage of, even the beloved movie alien ET came here to use our phones! So I ask you, how am I supposed to sleep soundly without knowing for sure if something near or far is hovering above me?

This paranoid activity has vastly increased during my junior year. My mother claims my alien insomnia is from my tremendous lack of sleep. Though I calmly remind her that if I knew for sure whether to worry or not then I might sleep better. She just tells me to stop scanning the sky and get some rest. But woman! How can I sleep when aliens with probe doohickeys and metal thingamabobs can be prowling the midnight skies?!

My father on the other hand refuses to believe the word alien even exists. Interesting take, a little unrealistic but hey who am I to judge? Before we watch any movie involving creatures from another planet he just reminds me that all the movie creatures must have two arms and two legs because underneath all that make-up and added special affects is a person just like you and me. But how sir does one explain the blob???

Regardless, I suppose the point I’m trying to make is I hate the certainty of uncertainty when it comes to the extraterrestrial topic. I just want to know is there something I should be worried about? I need to know if there’s something bigger, more powerful, or more threatening than myself. Whether or not I ever get my answer, the truth is, I’d rather it remain a hated mystery.