Daisy Dalrymple - Essay - Hampshire County

The Three White Balloons

Not too long ago, a white balloon was seen crossing the United States. This peeked an alarm in the US citizens for the first time in a very long while. There had recently been a Chinese spy balloon that was found floating across the US spying on civilians and officials. This balloon caused a panic and outcry from the public and was soon shot down by the US military. The balloon was “shot from the sky above the Atlantic Ocean.” (The Washington Post) Following this first Chinese spy balloon were three more white balloons, but these were different. These three white balloons were different from the Chinese spy balloon and the origin and reason behind it are still unknown. The Washington Post even released in their article “The right response to balloons doesn’t include panic” that “Unlike China's craft, the subsequent trio showed no signs of having propulsion systems and did not appear to target sensitive military sites.” The only known fact about these mysterious white balloons is that they were definitely not sent by aliens, and this information has been released to the public to calm their panic of an invasion by creatures from outer space. “Authorities say they really don't know the origin or purpose of the three - but did tell people not to worry that they were sent by aliens.” (The Washington Post) The two white balloons that were detected after the original Chinese spy balloon were shot down under the command of President Biden. February 12, 2023, the third white balloon was shot down above North America, just as the two before it. It was shot down due to concern of floating at altitudes that might endanger civilian aircraft. In their article, The Washington Post also wrote of where the aerial object was located when shot down and of why it was shot down in the first place. “When President Biden gave the order Sunday for a fighter jet to shoot down an unidentified aerial object over Lake Huron, aides said he did so out of an abundance of caution and on the recommendation of military commanders, amid concern it was floating at altitudes that might jeopardize civilian aircraft. It's the third such object downed over North America since the Chinese spy balloon that generated public outcry during its transcontinental voyage was shot from the sky above the Atlantic Ocean the previous weekend.” (The Washington Post) It also seems that it isn’t just the public who are worried about these balloons. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) even said, "We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing." (The Washington Post) President Biden is also trying to find a way to plan for future possible occurrences like the balloon incidents. The Washington Post also noted in their article “The right response to balloons doesn’t include panic” that “Mr. Biden directed an interagency team, under the direction of the national security adviser, to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks. This effort could provide important perspective.”
The Washington Post claims that everyone should stay calm and not worry about the growing amount of unknown aerial objects that are being found and shot down by the US military, but they are wrong. Yes, panic is never the key to solving a problem, but this is an issue to worry over. The Washington Post said that “The three objects that have been most recently shot down aren't necessarily cause for alarm.” There are unknown objects that are being found flying over the US, the makers of these objects are unknown, and the reasons behind the making of these objects and their purpose is also unknown. The Washington Post even added in their article, “As Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) put it: "We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing." How is this not an issue to worry about? The Washington Post repeats that unknown flying objects are no cause for alarm, but yet they wrote that “...it also makes sense to develop a framework for how to approach future such incidents.” If these objects should not cause worry and alarm, there should not be a planned future approach to these such incidents. The invasion of unknown objects is something to worry about.

Daisy Dalrymple

17

Essay

Hampshire