One could argue that every society advocates for a certain level of security and fairness resulting in a social contract. As a society, we can become enlightened and determined to change this contract to provide a greater amount of fairness and opportunity for all players. The possibilities to reform the social contract are limited because those who benefit from the status quo do not want to relinquish their benefits. A quite normal response. Change may require the enlightened to rise up and create an equal or greater threat to the exploiters: create a fear of reprisal, violence, repulsion of hurting another, or it may be the intervention of spirits or aliens.? These are three themes that the Other Side explores: the current condition of this contract to form class distinctions, the application of external entities, spirits, and aliens to act as referees or executioners of the contract, and the inequities in the current contract and the act of changing may provide a different and not improved condition. I describe these three themes here in greater detail.
The first theme explores the tendency for “living” humans to fabricate conditions of acceptance and fairness that serve as class distinctions. So the wealthy believe that their fame and fortune can be weighed for a favorable afterlife, while the have-nots believe that equity is created by judgment in the afterlife. For example, Egyptian beliefs of Anubis and similar Judean-Christian beliefs of weighing the soul, hating God for what He does or does not do, and cultural expressions such as ‘you reap what you sow’ all explain this belief in treatment after an afterlife judgment.
A second theme explores the role of spirits and aliens in determining a social contract. Some believe that spirits and aliens are beliefs that are used to manipulate the “masses” so that those in control remain in power. This may be true. If spirits and aliens do exist, these entities provide consequences or solutions for human failure and inadequacy. Perhaps spirits and aliens can be harnessed to create a more equitable world. Spirits and aliens may be able to establish rules and guidelines that cannot be usurped by humans. For example, judgment in the “afterlife” process or inaccessibility in alien superiority stories. The handling of judgment and aloofness are embedded in mysterious accounts of the Nazca Lines, Bigfoot sightings, Dogmen encounters, alien abductions, and Marian sightings in Lourdes and Tepeyac, etc. Spirits may choose to lift up a human over their circumstances and humans may choose spirits to change their circumstances.
A third theme is primarily aimed at those who believe they are on the right side of history and believe they are enlightened. Change of the system requires a certain degree of violence or perceived violence to allow a new social contract. However, the human allowance for violence and unfairness to be applied in direct contradiction to the larger American society’s expressed view on freedom, rights, and responsibilities exists under the nose of those who claim to be enlightened. Violence against women, human trafficking, and relationship control are key issues regarding this theme.