The Area 51 Raid: A Joke Taken Too Far
Area 51 has fascinated the imagination of the public for a long time, but in the past month popular culture has once-again become obsessed with Area 51. Also known as Groom Lake, Area 51 is a highly-classified United States Air Force base in Nevada that is rumored to house unidentified flying objects and aliens. The renewed interest around the base started with a Facebook group called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.” As of late July, 1.9 million people have marked that they’re going. While the owner of the Facebook page has publicly stated that the event is a joke, many people are taking the idea seriously. While it’s impossible to say how many people will actually show up, if a mere one percent of the 1.9 million people come, that’s still 19,000 people. The United States Air Force has responded to this threat, and spokeswoman Laura McAndrews stated that “The U.S. Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.” Nonetheless, the idea that “they can’t stop all of us” still prevails among many interested in actually going to the raid. The fact is, however, that the United States can stop all of them, and they will not hesitate to do so if a top-secret military base is threatened.
For some reason, many believe that the government will not use lethal or suppressing force against trespassers if enough people show up. The adage safety in numbers does not apply when storming a protected military base, and it seems as if the idea of martial law has been forgotten from the American consciousness. If the raid went too far, and people ended up being killed, there would undoubtedly be media outrage. Yet the damage caused by this outrage would be inconsequential compared to the damage which would be caused if the raiders were allowed to do as they pleased. It’s like a hostage situation. The moment that a country agrees to pay a kidnapper, more people are likely to be kidnapped because the country has shown they’re willing to fold. If the United States Military tolerates a raid of one of their top secret bases, it would seriously threaten their credibility. It would lead to all sorts of unforeseen chaos. This fantasy that the Area 51 raid is going to be like the storming of the Bastille, with “Do you hear the people sing?” from Les Miserables blasting in the background needs to die. It is far more likely that the raid will resemble the 2014 Ferguson riots than any romanticized triumph for the invaders.
The truth might be out there, but it’s better to stay inside and wait until some Freedom of Information Act Requests are filed instead of trying to raid Area 51. It’s great to keep our government accountable, but it’s better to be civil than participate in an event which is damaging to our country. As country artist Toby Keith said in his popular song Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue, “This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage and you’ll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.”
Kristian Fors is a student at Utah State University majoring in Economics and Philosophy and is an opinion columnist for the Utah Statesman. He can be reached at krfors@gmail.com.