When a brief shining moment of societal importance – an
alleged capture of an extraterrestrial machine – occurred near Roswell, New
Mexico in July 1947, the population of the area thought they finally had
garnered the recognition that had been passing them by.
After all, other places in America were being lauded and
talked about, for being industrious, beautiful, or exploited by visitors – New
York City, Los Angeles, Miami, et al.
The ho-hum areas of New Mexico – Corona, Roswell, Las
Cruces, even Albuquerque – were Immune to public adoration; but Roswell/Corona
much more so than most New Mexican towns and cities.
When the 1947 hubbub occurred, the citizens of
Roswell/Corona were entranced by the thought they were finally being noticed by
the world at large.
Unfortunately, the instant depreciation of the captured
flying disc report by the United States Army deflated any possibility of a
Roswell/Corona heyday. The citizenry was crushed.
They went back to their humdrum existences, feeling thwarted
by the Army which took away their moment(s) in the sun.
But then along came a UFO buff, Stanton Friedman, in 1978,
who offered a resurrection of that missed glory of 1947, and the residue of
Roswellian wannabes grabbed the opportunity and beheld the extraterrestrial
gospel of Mr. Friedman, with the hope that the world would now see their humble
society as worthy of visitation, by visitors from outer space, who knew a great
venue when they found one.
All the years of solitude and loneliness was taken away by
Mr. Friedman and his UFO acolytes.
The Roswell citizens were not about to lose their new found
cachet so they bolstered the imaginings of UFO believers with embellishments
that were little different than those of the early Greeks or Egyptians who
promoted their countries and cultures with mythical tales that made their
habitations seem worthy of visit and encomiums.
The ploy worked and Roswell became a place of tainted honor
for many and maintains that place of honor to this day.
The myth of a Roswell flying machine with “tourists”
crashing nearby has been expanded creatively since 1978 and those old-timers,
and their generational newbies, swell with pride that their inhabited part of
the world is as important – maybe more so – than others.
The citizens, past and present, were blessed by a special
visitation that rivals the descent of God upon the ancient Hebrews.
Thus, Roswell continues to resonate – among a few UFO
devotees only – but it’s a resonation that can’t be allowed to be quelled, not
this time.
RR
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