Opinion

Michael Ian Black: UFO Whistleblower David Grusch Is My Hero of 2023

THE TRUTH IS (MAYBE?) HERE

The decorated combat veteran and former intelligence officer bravely told Congress things that could change humanity’s view of itself.

opinion
Photo illustration of Michael Ian Black and David Grusch
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty

There’s at least a small chance that David Grusch will end up being one of the most consequential figures in history. On June 5, the former intelligence officer was the subject of an extraordinary article in The Debrief entitled, “Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin.” At once, the 36-year-old retired Air Force officer went from combat veteran to whistleblower, making the incredible claim that the United States government, and/or its military subcontractors, has in its possession multiple partial or intact “alien” craft.

Further, he claimed, the U.S. began collecting these craft in the 1940s and has been studying them ever since—while denying their existence to the public.

Grusch also provided to Congress “hours of recorded classified information transcribed into hundreds of pages which included specific data about the materials recovery program.” The following month, he went further, testifying under oath to Congress about the so-called “craft retrieval program.”

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Grusch is not the first person to make such claims over the years, but he is among the most credible. A decorated Air Force veteran, Grusch has the résumé of both a boy genius and a Boy Scout. Overnight, a man almost nobody had ever heard of became the perfect poster child for the growing disclosure movement, which seeks the truth about what the government knows regarding UFOs or UAPs.

Why would a man with access to the nation’s highest secrets throw away his military career over UFOs? In his prepared opening statement to Congress, Grusch testified:

“I am driven in this duty by a conviction to expose what I viewed as a grave congressional oversight issue and a potential abuse of executive branch authorities. This endeavor was not born out of malice or dissatisfaction, but from an unwavering commitment to truth and transparency, an endeavor rooted in our inherent duty to uphold the United States Constitution, protect the American People, and seek insights into this matter that have the potential to redefine our understanding of the world.”

Total Boy Scout.

To date, none of Grusch’s claims has been publicly confirmed, but if even a small percentage of them eventually turn out to be true, then humanity’s understanding of who—and what—we are will forever change.

The implications for our species are unclear: what would it mean for our conception of ourselves if we are sharing this planet with at least one superior intelligence?

What would this revelation mean for humanity’s relationship with itself? What sorts of technological advances could we make if the larger scientific community were able to study these craft and the so-called “biologics” that Grusch claims we also recovered? (When pressed, Grusch said biologics = aliens.)

What would it mean for the American people if it turns out that its government has been systematically lying about this subject for 80 years?

Following Grusch’s testimony, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced the “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023,” which would have laid out a pathway for disclosure to occur. The act was gutted at the end of the year, the victim of opposition from the intelligence community and defense contractors.

Why did they object to the bill? If there’s nothing to the UFO controversy, why block the amendment?

The author Arthur C. Clarke once said, “two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

The year 2023 may turn out to be the year we got our answer, thanks to a whistleblower named David Grusch, who confirmed the following during his first televised interview: “We’re definitely not alone.”

The truth, as the saying goes, is out there. Thanks to Grusch, it may be closer—far closer—than most of us ever believed.

You can view the complete Heroes 2023 series here.

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