When aliens invade our planet, will the first person they meet be an obscure UN representative?
The United Nations, tackling head-on the problem of what to do if an alien says “take me to your leader”, is poised to designate a specific individual for the task.
Some would argue that the job should fall to the US president, the leaders of Russia or the European Union. Others might suggest the Pope. One thing is certain: humanity’s lack of a leader would not make a good impression.
Instead the UN is set to select [Mazlan Othman] an obscure Malaysian astrophysicist who is head of its little-known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa)
A lot of bloggers are linking to that story but—alas—it turns out to be too good to be true. “It sounds really cool but I have to deny it,” Othman told The Guardian . She will be attending a conference next week, but she’ll be talking about how the world deals with “near-Earth objects.”
Since Dwight Eisenhower was the first official representative to meet with the aliens when they visited in 1954 , the responsibility to greet the visitors, hide them at Area 51, and initiate the cover-up, will probably fall to our current president.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
