From: Larry W. Bryant <overtci.nul>
Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 15:39:45 -0400 (EDT)
Fwd Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 10:17:42 -0400
Subject: Planetary Patriotism Gets Formal Boost


Attention, Independent-minded Earthlings!

Planetary Patriotism Gets A Formal Boost This Coming Fourth Of July

By Larry W. Bryant

This would-be paradigm-shifting codification of humanity's role
and autonomy in the universe  -  and of all other civilizations'
inherent obligation to accept, honor, and help preserve that
Earthly status  - consists of the carefully crafted "Declaration
of Human Sovereignty Regarding Contact with Extraterrestrial
Nations and Forces."

Reading like an official manifesto issued by (or at) UN
headquarters, the 1,600-word document came to my attention
during the X-Conference held in Gaithersburg, Md., on April 17-
18, 2004. During the conference's closing hours, I revisited
the vendors table tended by a group promoting the exophilosophy
of one Marshall Vian Summers. There I found supporter Michael
Brownlee, who was handing out copies of the declaration in
poster form.

Not one to pass up any form of free UFOlit, I happily grabbed a
couple of copies. In a flash of creative empathy, I realized the
collectibility and inspirational value of this document, whose
opening paragraph begins on as positive a note as possible: "We,
the People of Earth, extend greetings to all peoples in the
Greater Community of the Universe." How much more magnanimous
can a manifesto be?

Brownlee explained that the formal roll-out of this cosmic Magna
Carta will occur on, fittingly enough, this coming Independence
Day. It represents, he said, a concerted effort of several
(human) minds committed to incorporating all the "fundamental
rights," "the assessment" of key issues, and the pertinent
"demands and declarations" into a single document calling for
consideration by "those supporting the cause of freedom
throughout the Greater Community."

Once you get past the document's lofty verbiage, you certainly
can appreciate the gravity of its message: that humans have an
inviolate place in the universe; that no extraterrestrial
visitor (the ultimate undocumented alien) has a right to
interfere with or otherwise preempt our free will; and that,
above all, we have the right to be let alone. A statement of the
obvious, you might say. But one that, in these times of
escalated intra-Earth crises, deserves stating and restating.
(And perhaps our merely seeing copies of the document here and
there can help us realize, as Ronald Reagan apparently did, that
our Earth-based social ills pale in comparison to what may await
us from afar.)

For example, the final observation in the declaration's
"Assessment" section notes that "Extraterrestrial forces have
systematically attempted to persuade and mislead humans through
extending false hopes and promises of advanced technology,
wealth, power and protection, rescue from planetary catastrophe,
membership in a galactic federation, and spiritual salvation and
enlightenment."

But the best comes last  -  in the section labeled "Demands and
Declarations." Its language rises to the level of political
poetry, and I prefer that you view it in toto, via the web site
of http://www.humansovereignty.net .

Upon my departure from Brownlee's table, I remarked that I might
write something about this milestone in UFO-E.T. cultural
interaction. As you read this write-up, please consider these
points left untreated by the declaration:

(1) If, as xenologist Charles Fort conjectured, we are (and
always have been) the property (i.e., slaves  -  if not the
progeny) of some E.T. race(s), then we flat out have no rights
at all in their (wrap-around) eyes. So the declaration may be
worth less than its computer printout. Time for a cosmic Gandhi
here?

(2) Some of the unwelcome E.T. visitors may be our galactic
cousins (doing all-too-human things to, and with, us)  -  our
being the equivalent of officially unacknowledged, bastardized
offspring of a strain of alien Thomas Jeffersons.

(3) About this prospect of Colony Earth: WWBFS  -  What Would
Ben Franklin Say?

In the meantime, this us-against-them declaration remains strong
on imagination and commitment, but weak on implementation and
exportation. As a symbolic gesture, though, of humanity's
birthright, intent, ethos, and destiny, it has little room for
improvement.