This personal reflection is part of a series called The Big Ideas, in which writers respond to a single question: What do we believe? One day in 1996,

Harry Reid: What We Believe About U.F.O.s

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2021-05-22 05:30:02

This personal reflection is part of a series called The Big Ideas, in which writers respond to a single question: What do we believe?

One day in 1996, I received a call from George Knapp, an investigative reporter at KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, and a friend of mine. “Harry,” he said, “there’s something you have to attend.” He invited me to an upcoming conference that would focus on what the U.S. government generally refers to as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” but what most other people simply call U.F.O.s, a subject Mr. Knapp had, and still has, a particular interest in.

A large conference room at the event was filled with academics, interested members of the public and, yes, a few oddballs. I was very impressed with the academics, who spoke of unidentified aerial phenomena in the language of science, discussing the issue in terms of technological advancement and national security. I was hooked.

Over the following years, as I became increasingly interested in U.F.O.s — in part through my conversations with former astronaut John Glenn, a fellow senator with a similar curiosity — my staff warned me not to be seen to engage on the topic. “Stay the hell away from this,” they said. I politely ignored them. I was inquisitive and, like Senator Glenn, I thought it was an issue that demanded attention, and I was in a position to act.

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