Our children deserve truth. If the Ithaca Journal insists on continuing with the feature called Alternative Tompkins, wherein all manner of myth, mysticism, and madness is reported as if actually having a foundation in reality, the editors should add clarifications when necessary. This is especially true this week. It should have been made clear in the article about UFOs that the organization to which Steve Calkins referred, “CSETI” (The Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence), is NOT the well-known organization called SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) -- although one can imagine that the founder of CSETI is not unhappy with the confusion.

SETI consists of legitimate scientists doing legitimate science in an effort to determine whether there may be intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy -- primarily, by searching for radio signals from space. CSETI, on the other hand, presumes that intelligent extra-terrestrial life exists and has visited our planet for centuries. The Journal article didn’t mention it, but despite the local UFO hunters’ vivid hallucinations, there is not one shred of evidence that life of any kind exists beyond earth – let alone evidence for aliens performing aerobatics over Cortland County.

Belief in aliens -- whether as monsters or as wise and magnanimous beings -- is no different than belief in other myths or religions. If such belief gives someone hope, and helps them through their fear-filled nights, then I say, “enjoy”. But it is irresponsible for the Journal to present these phobias and fantasies as facts. Our children deserve truth.

Today, we in Ithaca scorn leaders who can’t tell fact from fiction. We seek honest role models for our kids. But how are kids to know what is real or false if we don’t teach them how to think critically, or how to fairly weigh evidence? How are they to know what is true if their local newspaper reports that alien spaceships fly above us, crystals increase energy, magnets soothe aches, astrology determines character, homeopathy is NOT a complete sham, and eternal damnation awaits those who displease the deities.

Our children deserve truth. We all deserve a better newspaper.