COMMUNICATION FROM ARKAY OF KORENDOR
Date of reception: 25 October 1988
Love and light, my Terran friends. At my request, this message has been titled "Toward Your Tomorrows". In the next several pages, I will offer to you a number of suggestions as to what you can do to alleviate the major problems that beleaguer your little planet.
You are of course free to reject any or all of them. We will not impose ourselves upon you. The purpose of the Alliance is to eliminate the Omegan influence from your world. Once we have attained that goal, we will withdraw to act as observors.
You will then be left to your own devices, as you say, to demonstrate to us either that you have learned from the errors of your past, or that you will remain a warlike species into the indefinite future. In the latter case, we will depart, leaving behind only our automatic recorders to monitor your world, placing you "in quarantine".
If you are again threatened by any hostile alien force, we will return to repel that threat, but your world will remain in an isolated state as far as the Alliance is concerned. What the Confederation would do then is for them to know. We have discussed this with them, but they have not said what their response might be. As I noted before, the Alliance and the Confederation are not on the best of terms.
With that said, let us examine the steps leading "toward your tomorrows". Your highest priority must be to bring yourselves out of thousands of years of unrelenting violence and hatred.
There was of a time when, although you engaged in frequent wars, they were limited to personal encounters on the battlefield. Death was just as real, and violence just as brutal, but the grief caused by the war away from the battlefield was only psychological.
And then your technology of death and destruction began to grow in its sophistication and impact. The effects of war left the battleground, and the innocents began to suffer the horrors of war along with the soldiers.
You developed flight, and the air became a new and far-reaching arena for warfare. Your aircrafts were able to deliver large payloads of explosives to remote places, and the cities and homes of the combatants became targets.
Whether there was was strategic justification for these attacks is not at issue here. My discussion now deals only with means, not ends. The means expanded in scope and destructiveness, until at last, thanks to the intrusion of the Omegans, your military science "discovered" the atom as a weapon.
In two brief moments in your year of 1945, the awesome power of nuclear fission changed forever the course of war. Man of Earth was given a force capable of destroying civilization in a few hours of exquisite violence.
It is partly due to humanity's continuing horror of that possibility, and partly due to the Omegan's policy of preventing another major war, that your world has not since seen conflict except in a limited capacity. This is the "modus operandi" of the Omegan program -- to keep you at each other's throats, but to hold the reins tightly enough to disallow another world-scale war that might undo everything they hoped to accomplish.
Now, the Omegan grip is being loosened, and more than ever there is a need for a fundamental change in your thinking. The Omegans did not initiate the international hatred and distrust that fosters your wars. They merely manipulated them to their own ends. It is therefore your task to eliminate these progenitors of war before your new freedom endangers life on Earth.
This will not be a simple task. We are well aware that the differences are so profound that it may be many years before they can be successfully resolved. We are also aware that the ideology of the "Communist" system has embraced oppression, fear and violence as viable instruments of control.
In short, we know that unless that ideology is rejected completely, the "western" nations must be constantly on the alert, and be prepared to defend their precious blessings of freedom and democracy. We of the Alliance are first pragmatists, and then idealists.
The Alliance is deeply involved in the Communist nations in an ongoing effort to create in the people a strong dissatisfaction with that way of life.
Our infiltration will not be in evidence except to the astute observor. The tactics we use may well prove to be harsh and painful in the short term, but it is a long-proven fact that in a system where there is contentment with, or resignation to, the "status quo", there is no impetus for major cultural reform. We intend to put the needed "burrs under their saddles".
It may be by causing shortages of life's staples, or by bringing about incidents that demonstrate convincingly the corruption and bankruptcy of the Communist way of rule, or by giving to those in places of influence a taste of freedoms that are denied them at home. Whatever the approach, our aim is to plant the seeds of evolution, if not revolution, and to nurture them until they blossom into a popular demand for change that cannot be ignored.
Simultaneously, we will be working within the highest levels of government to further the careers and power of those whose principles, no matter what degree of deviation they might actually represent, are toward moderation and less restrictive governance.
The aware individual can see this tactic in action. "Glasnost" and the successes of Mikhail Gorbachev are not due to overt Alliance intervention, but rather to subtle "behind the scenes" assistance and persuasion. We do not force. We merely help things to move in the desirable direction.
We are also at work in the United States government, to create a greater degree of patience with the slowness of changes occurring in the Soviet system. The desert does not bloom overnight.
Many signs of our activity will be seen. Soviet "satellite" nations will begin to assert their individuality and their desire to move toward democracy. This will not happen easily, and the Communist leadership will oppose it. Yet, it must transpire, because within the limits of our power, we will not permit these trends to be reversed.
Because the Communist system of government is a failure, it must be rejected by your world. It has ruled by fear and oppression, and many millions of people have perished in its lust for control. The time is now past when an enlightened civilization can allow this abomination against the laws of God and the precepts of freedom to continue to rule on Earth. Communism must perish!
To be fair to all, your American way of life is far from flawless in its politics and government. The ongoing spectacle of the "presidential race" gives us cause to wonder how the leader of so powerful and influential a nation can be rationally selected by a voting public exposed to such a sorry display of negativism and verbal vitriol.
We know that this is a tradition in your political arena, a tactic long practiced in your country's history. This is, however, scarcely a credible justification for continuing to engage in it. We have discerned, as a point of interest, that historically the amount of rancor and negative politicking is inversely related to the competence and popularity of the candidates that use these sordid tactics. You may take that observation as a "rule of thumb".
Beyond that, we recommend that your nation begin at once to return its government to the minimalist force that its founders envisioned. Over the years it has expanded in size and power until it is now a ponderous behemoth that is beyond responding to anything that has not reached the state of crisis.
Your "social consciences", as they envision themselves, spend their time promoting an even larger government to oversee every aspect of life in your nation. They demand further investment of tax monies in what you call welfare programs, despite overwhelming evidence that these programs are self-defeating, and merely intensify the problems that they were created to correct.
I shall not go into this in detail at this time. All of you know of many instances where programs started by good intentions have soon "gone sour", because "throwing money at a problem" does nothing to correct the causes that create and sustain the problems.
This is the impetus for failure that plagues the large, unwieldy form of government that you have in America. Bureaucracy is a self-perpetuating evil that survives by creating new reasons for its existence.
When a social condition arises that demands action, another government department is formed to channel tax monies into the "solution" to that condition, without the merest knowledge of whether or not the application of money will do one thing to correct it.
We find this a most uncomfortable parallel to where the Alliance was heading, before the re-organization that I described in an earlier message. As any governing body grows larger, it loses flexibility and responsiveness.
Over the years the U.S. government has become irrational. It now exists primarily to collect and dispense an inordinate amount of tax money to no good end other than to preserve the workplace of those assigned to this task. You spend many billions on the "social programs", and yet there is an ever-mounting shame of poverty, hunger and homelessness. Many more billions are devoted to defense, and yet your military by and large relies on aging, hopelessly inadequate weapons and tactical systems that imperil your soldiers' lives.
A change is in order, a profound reworking that turns most of the tasks now "handled" by governments over to what you call the private sector, which can be far more effective. If for no other reason than that profit is a very compelling motivator, private business is more efficient in dealing with the challenges and problems in society.
The government must, of course, continue to be the controller of the economy's monetary system, and the wielder of military power. These are things that cannot be converted to the private sector. However, such things as the postal service, communications, energy, transportation, and so on are perfectly suited to the competitiveness and adaptability of private business. The concomitant decrease in taxation alone would spur economic revolution.
Is this likely to happen? Not as long as your country's politicians and citizens continue to believe that more government is the only answer to the nation's difficulties. You hear of the need to raise taxes to feed the hungry giant in Washington, and see horror and disbelief when someone dares to suggest that the federal bureaucracy ought to be "put on a diet". Reflect on the loud rhetoric that resulted from the law known as Gramm-Rudman, that sought to tame the federal beast.
Yet, this is the only hope America has for entering the next century as a vital and influential member of the world community. Your nation is at the point this very moment when delay will condemn you to economic and social collapse. This is not a prediction. It is an inevitability unless you act now!
I have discussed to this point the courses of action necessary to bring your world toward your tomorrows in the material sense. Now I must turn to the spiritual, the moral, the philosophical changes that must be brought about to permit a free society to best avail itself of its liberties. Here once more I may be "treading on toes". If I give offense, then so be it. I am not writing to appease or to please, but to enlighten and stimulate. I said in my very first message that if your idea of communications from aliens is vague, innocuous pablum, then you've certainly come to the wrong place.
With that in mind, we shall now proceed.
The Infinite One, our God, is the source of all strength and courage, of all compassion and mercy, of all wisdom and intelligence. He is all. With God, mankind can do anything. Without God, mankind is nothing.
That, my friends is the solution to all of your world's difficulties, and the banisher of all its evils. You have failed because you have forsaken that ultimate truth. You have chosen to tell God that you can do without him, and he has obliged you.
Turn back to God, people of Earth. Give him your worship, your love, your hopes and your dreams, and he will then provide for you as he has for us on the many worlds he has bestowed with life.
Is it really that simple? Yes, and no. The solution is that easy. Bringing it into your world is not. That will be a challenge that only the bravest and most dedicated will face, and many will "fall by the wayside" in despair. Yet, without that return to God, humanity on Earth is doomed.
That may seem melodramatic, an unfounded hyperbole. It is not. It is as certain as sunset! Without a full recommitment to God and his immutable, eternal laws, my friends of Earth, you are condemned to the final failure. We of the Alliance cannot help you on this one. We will, if at all possible, rid you of the Omegan influence, but you must bring about the change of heart that will permit you to become great, and move out into the community of the stars. Your fate is yours to decide.
Some specifics, now. In order to begin this conversion to the righteous and spiritual way of life, the major promoters of immorality and cultural decay must be eliminated. Inasmuch as your "entertainment" media have a most profound influence on your thinking, it is with them that you must begin.
Your country has as one of its founding precepts the First Amendment, which quite rightly defends freedom of speech as a sacred trust. I do not for an instant propose to dispense with it, because it is a bulwark of an open and democratic society. However, freedom of speech can be abused. You have a saying that "free speech does not include the right to shout 'fire' in a crowded theater." It is time that you realized that there are other things that it ought not protect.
Not too many years ago, America's entertainment was wholesome, fit for every member of the family. The motion picture industry relied for its success on actors and actresses of talent and "screen presence". Legends such as Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Judy Garland and Bette Davis brought vitality to the "silver screen", and drew the viewer into their make-believe worlds.
The music makers provided the clean, innocent, often nonsensical but always decent sounds that listeners could enjoy anytime and anyplace. The print media gave you that same "family" atmosphere. Magazines and books were literate, informative and always an adventure in entertainment. Television and radio were the sources of light amusement, of mystery and comedy and drama and fine music.
And then your society changed.
In a mad quest for greater freedom of expression, you began to tolerate more and more "adult" entertainment. Where once competence was the measure of success in films, now a star's film future was determined by his or her willingness to mouth foul language and disrobe before the camera. Acts once confined to the "stag films" were found with ever-increasing frequency and graphicness in Main Street theaters.
The "rating system" appeared, and to be commercially successful, a film required the "PG" or "R" label. The "X" became a badge of honor, and the film that carried the "G" rating was doomed at the box-office. Filthiness replaced finesse, and pornography donned the mantle of legitimacy.
In 1988, the world's entertainment is a travesty, spurning everything that is pure and decent in spirit.
In this year, the ultimate slap in the face to God was presented for all to see, as Hollywood depicted Jesus as a man of lust, fantasizing a sexual encounter with Mary Magdalene. When Christians, with every justification, protested this disreputable slur upon their Lord, they were mocked and told by so-called religious leaders that it was a proper portrayal of Jesus the man facing temptation.
Sheer, arrant nonsense! This film is just one more effort to destroy the presence of God in your society. The demons of Hell could do little more than Hollywood is already achieving.
The same sickness of spirit befell other forms of entertainment. Evilness has overtaken the print and electronic media. I will not expand on this point, beyond saying that when crude, obscene, immoral trash is offered on "the tube" to your children, then you have carried free speech too far, my Terran friends.
It is necessary, then, to define the limits of First Amendment aegis. If a thing is beyond the farthest bounds of decency and good taste, then it must be exempted from that coverage. This may disturb the sensibilities of the libertarians, and they will fret about whose tastes will determine the limits. However, this shallow argument has for far too long allowed the peddlers of smut and social decay to run rampant in your society.
It is now time to set those bounds beyond which "entertainment" no longer enjoys First Amendment rights. The statement that filth and amorality are merely the byproducts of a free and open society is a pure sham. They are no more than the foolish experiments of a culture enamored of its self-styled maturity, and unaware of its ignorance and childishness.
Once you begin to critically look at what you see and hear each day, it will be no major effort to establish a set of guidelines. It is time to return American entertainment to the morality and righteousness that it for so long enjoyed, before it "grew up" and became "adult" at the expense of its innocence and its quality. This is the next step toward your tomorrows.
The final and perhaps the most critical point that I wish to discuss deals with traditional values. The world of 1988 seems to have forgotten the elementary social graces. Courtesy, respect, discipline, compassion, all have vanished. Responsibility for one's actions is passe.
Beyond all these, however, there is an over-riding concern that your people have lost their love of life. Each day's news brings more evidence that the sanctity and preciousness of God-given life is being forgotten or simply ignored.
The daily toll from "little" wars is in the hundreds. Millions starve to death in impoverished nations. Millions more are never born because the horror of abortion kills them in the womb.
Death, whether of individuals or en masse, has lost its significance. Euthenasia is promoted as a way to deal with the hopelessly ill. A doctor makes the suggestion that new-borns ought to be subject to death in the first few weeks of life if they are found to be deformed or diseased.
Certainly, death is the end of every life, and taking each one to heart would soon become overwhelming. Compassion does not demand that, but it does require that you do more than shrug off the loss of life from murder, narcotics, warfare, terrorism and the other causes of violent death.
That these victims are not known personally to one is no excuse. Death by the thoughtless or malicious acts of man should be of grave concern to all.
Sadly, this indifference to death has created an indifference to life as well. Nowhere is this more profoundly evident than in the cruel epidemic of abuse. Whether it is the brutality of beating a spouse, or the unspeakably vicious act of inflicting pain and suffering upon a helpless child, it is a logical extension of the hardening of the human heart toward the sacredness and preciousness of life.
The evils of the Twentieth Century have destroyed the millenia of progress that you have made from your primitive roots. In the 2,000 years since Jesus walked and taught upon your world, his wonderful, eternal words brought you slowly out of the "dark ages" of fear, ignorance and superstition. Now, in less than a century, my brothers of Earth, you have undone all of it.
Your last and most important step toward your tomorrows must be to bring about in mankind a new awakening of the spiritual life. You will continue on your present materialistic course of action at your own fatal risk.
Yes, try as best you can to make the worldly existence of all people more comfortable and pleasant. However, do not view that as an end unto itself. Without the true satisfaction that is obtained from a soul that is full of the love of God and the wealth of his blessings, you may own the universe and yet have nothing.
There are none so poor as those with the riches of the world who cannot buy happiness, love and peace. Truly, if there is no bread, the wealthiest of kings will starve.
The bread of the spiritual life is God's presence. Why humanity desires to subsist on the crumbs from the floor, when God offers this abundance of food for the soul, is a mystery that we of other worlds cannot understand.
You have had in your history the "Master Baker", Jesus Christ, who gave you the recipe by which you can forever sate your souls with his bread of life. Yet, you have rejected Jesus and his fulfilling words in favor of attempting to create your own cookbook without God's guidance and assistance.
Recognize the hunger for God that grows stronger within your soul with each day that passes, and you will know that the meager, stumbling efforts of mankind cannot assuage it.
Reach out to the Infinite One, and with your hand securely in his, place one foot in front of the other, and commence at his side that long journey toward your tomorrows. Earth knows no problem that cannot be solved by the application of God's law in your lives.
We of the Alliance will do our part by driving out the "dark forces" that have for so long held you in their evil grasp. Then, you must begin on your own to return to the spiritual way of living that will bring you into the higher awareness and consciousness that will make you worthy to take your place in the universal brotherhood.
Your arrival is eagerly awaited.
My last communication in this series will offer some insight into what it will mean to Earth to become a member of the United Worlds Alliance.
You will learn about a few of the scientific, economic and sociological benefits of that status, as well as the responsibilities that you will assume if you elect to "sign on" with the UWA. I believe that you will find it to be an interesting "read".
Va i luce, and peace be yours.
I am ArKay.
© 2008 Robert P. Renaud -- all rights reserved