A New Alien Citizenry
The noun (alien) is "a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to one's country" synonymous with "foreigner". It also means "anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found" synonymous with "stranger" (the antonym being "acquaintance"). "Alien" also refers to "a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere", and is synonymous with "extraterrestrial being".
The original definitions of "Alien" dated as far back as 1340, and meant "strange", or "foreign" being original French (alien) and Latin (alienus) and meaning "of, or belonging to another". The adjective form "alius" meant "(an)other". The meaning "of another planet" was first recorded in 1944 in science fiction writing; with the noun form in this sense being developed in 1953. The noun sense of "foreigner" is first attested in 1330. Now, the adjective of this word (Alien) means "being, or from, or characteristic of, another place or part of the world"; (for example "alien customs"; "exotic plants in a greenhouse" or "exotic cuisine"). The verb means "to arouse hostility or indifference in, where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness (for instance "she alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious" and is synonymous with the word "estrange".
Going by the original definition, it would appear that everyone was alien to everyone else, since we all exhibit characteristics which may be defined as "strange" by other people (in the majority or the minority). Having various idiosyncrasies or peculiarities, and each prone to widely differing eccentricities qualifies every individual as "strange", one to another, especially since we all are capable of arousing "hostility or indifference" in the people we once "loved", had "affection" for, or were "friendly to" (and vice versa). The word "foreigner" (meaning someone who is misplaced ("lost temporarily; as especially, put in an unaccustomed or forgotten place") or displaced ("to put something in a different place from where it should be" - having been found in the "environment to which they do not belong", and both synonymous with "relocate") creates the impression of an invasion of space or territory. It should consequently be then, that every animal, person, or item that relocates (or is relocated) from his, hers, or its original position, is an alien (regardless of their initial country, or place, of origin).
But the word also refers to an "extraterrestrial being" (a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere"). If what we read in Science Fiction is to be believed, then technology has created a new kind of Alien; one in which both foreigner and citizen are Resident Aliens. "How is this so?" I hear you ask. When the mobile phones first became popular, disturbing trends emerged. People who were ordinarily quiet would be seen pacing up and down office corridors, street corners or shopping malls talking and smiling into space, or shouting and pointing fingers, gesticulating menacingly at seemingly imaginary friends or adversaries. You would have to look closer to discover the thin cable of the earpiece stuck to their ears, and trailing into their pockets, being attached to their mobile phones in order to ascertain the sanity of so many funny looking people.
These days, the phenomenon is even more curious, and the trend more worrying. I have to keep reassessing the sanity of logic in the conversation of people with funny looking gadgets stuck to their ears and with no mobile phone in sight. My, oh my!! What has the world turned into? This unsuspecting invasion of the mobile earpiece has created a new citizenry of both the "foreigner" and the "sons-of-the-soil" (or daughters), creating a combined force of "Aliens" "extraterrestrial" by their very appearance, under the government of mobile phone operators, with the countries governments as law enforcement officers. Everywhere you look new aliens abound, with their gadgets of various sizes, description and monetary value, communicating via satellite cell stations, as if in commune with a "higher order", one might be tempted to look in the sky to see if there are any UFO's around. Why, only the other day, I curiously acquired my own proof of alien citizenry (or ancestry, who knows which?), but when I look at other aliens on the streets and their peculiarities and idiosyncrasies, their gesticulations and other suspicious behavior, I wonder at the sanity or logic of my purchase. Call it paranoia if you like, but it's very scary, this feeling of being a new kind of alien. Have we all been unsuspectingly and surreptitiously adopted into a citizenship of which there is presently an unidentified kingdom? Have we missed something? Does anyone else wonder? Or am I on my own in my curiosity?
Yinka Dixon is an Adult Education Lecturer, Training Facilitator, Vocational Skills Assessor, Careers & Skills Developer, Motivational Speaker, Writer, Talk Show Researcher, Presenter and Producer. She is a visionary, team leader, counselor, exhorter, and encourager. Yinka believes that everyone can overcome challenges by developing, cultivating and maintaining positive attitudes. Her motivation lies in her unique ability to discover, appreciate, stimulate, invigorate and energize the latent skills and abilities in individuals, and to actively seek and provide essential and timely information that forms the basis of individual progression. Yinka, presently based in Europe, is the Proprietor of Corporate Phases, and the Founder and Director of CAMfest and CAMshowcase, which both celebrates experienced Christian performing artists and highlights the skills of upcoming ones.
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