Is there extraterrestrial life out there somewhere in the vastness of space? Of course there is. Out there, somewhere, there is some other intelligent life form, that has not the technology to minutely explore its universe beyond its own solar system, saying to itself “Is our planet the only place where life exists?” It may also be sending out “communication signals” that are impossible to decipher or differentiate. But what if, by odd chance, there was “contact?” And what if that contact was not altogether intended to be "friendly," such as that portrayed in the film “Avatar?”
One evening I was exploring the nether land of late night AM radio when I encountered the grave intonations of “Coast-to-Coast” patriarch Art Bell providing an ominous assessment of the future of humankind. Humans would eventually destroy the habitability of the Earth—and perhaps sooner rather than later—so we should be pondering about the feasibility of off-shoring to another world. Of course, the technology required is still in the imaginary phase, but it doesn’t hurt to start imagining seriously. We have already begun “exploratory” contact with potential suitors, but the question is just how much would we have to lie about ourselves? After all, how should an alien intelligence judge us just by viewing our activities here on this planet? War, bigotry, starvation—is this what humans would bring to another world? What would they think of the things we find “entertaining,” like murder, mayhem and an occasional dash of foolishness and idiocy? What about what passes as news? More violence, inter-cut with scenes of environmental destruction, politicians bickering incessantly and (if they happen to be tuning into Fox News) funny farm escapees conversing insanely. Why should the native inhabitants trust us to behave if this is all we have to offer in the advancement of civilization? What rationale would they have for not slaughtering humans on the spot if happened upon their planet?
What moral right do we have to colonize another planet with its own life forms when in the generality humans clearly have little regard about the welfare of their own kind, much less about indigenous life?
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