Let's get a little science fictiony today. How would it change your thinking if aliens landed tomorrow and asked our planet to join the Gallactic Federation? Do you think that would change your views on economics, human nature, religion, right and wrong, the meaning of life, or anything else? If so, how. . . why?
13 comments:
Andrew: What makes you think they haven't already landed and taken over the White House and Congress?
Good point Lawhawk. Waxman in particular looks like he's from another planet!
Maybe they’re “V’s” …?
Believe it or not, I have NOT thought about this. :-)
We're really talking about two things: a.) first contact with aliens, and b.) joining a federation filled with even more alien races.
I suppose the big thing would be the "We're not alone!" revelation. I'm not religious so I honestly don't know how a religious, church-going person would react. I don't think this sort of thing is in the Bible and, if the movie Contact is any indication, the subject WILL come up. Of course, religion and alien contact don't have to be mutually-exclusive concepts.
I keep going back to their intent. Obviously, it would have taken an enormous amount of energy for aliens to reach Earth so on one hand, I'm thinking, "Maybe we can trade: their secrets of energy production for something we have." On the other hand, it could all be a big trap. V, anybody?
Same thing with economics. Do they use money or is it some kind of Star Trek-style quasi-Socialist state where everything can be replicated and people only work because they want to better themselves? It might make me appreciate our system more.
Of course, one can argue that, if a poll were taken, people would be split down the middle:
The optimistic "The aliens can give us free healthcare!" crowd vs. the skeptical "But what will they want in return?" crowd.
And the big question: where would Earth rank in this Federation? And what would we have to do to pull our weight in it? To say nothing of getting every country to agree to join.
I would be thrilled and I would insist that all of the leaders (including Congressional-type bodies of Government)of the world go with them for a big "Gallactic Federation Convention" on some far away galaxy. And while they are all away, we can move the planet...
The only thing would change would be my horoscope.
Bev, Good thinking! LOL!
Scott, This is one of those big questions where science fiction usually comes up short. Contact is one of the few movies that I know of which deals with it. Most of the rest turn into action flicks.
The UFO people have been saying for years now that the reason we get so many alien movies is that THEY (i.e. the secret government that runs all of those conspiracies people love to believe in) have been trying to prepare us for meeting the aliens that they already know about.
I honestly suspect that little will change if aliens show up. Humans have a remarkable ability to open their minds for a few days, but it never lasts. Within a month we'll be back to all the same old garbage.
Wow, depressing.
Hey this just in -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100422/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_seal_trial
Bev, I saw that -- that's great news!
How to Serve Man?
first: I like Bev's move without a forwarding address...
second: I liked Contact (Matthew!!) and appreciated their attempt to see the faith-based side of things. (and Matthew!)
seriously: I have a conservative, fundamental theological perspective (pre-Trib, pre-mil: yeah, one of those). We tend to find the idea of aliens a possible explanation that will be used in the post-Rapture world.
As for the "what if possibility", I used to teach 1st & 2nd grade Sunday School (that'll test your faith!), and I drilled into them that what God wanted us to know about Him was in the Bible, He is infinite and if we tried to stick all of Him in our brains (about the size of your 2 fists together) our brains would explode. So, since He doesn't say there aren't any ET's out there, it's possible. And I figure He's got that theological implication figured out - no reason for my brain to explode!
I LOVE these conversations!!!!
NOTE: Julio Huerta, one of the three Navy SEALs on trial for the alleged maltreatement of a terrorist detainee, was found not guilty of any charge by a six-man military jury. One down, two to go. The prosecution's case for the other two has now been substantially weakened. The jury found the testimony claiming abuse to be "totally unconvincing." The second SEAL, like Huerta, was basically charged with a cover-up. Any different result in his trial is highly unlikely. And if those two are acquitted, it will be nearly impossible for the prosecution to prove the case against the third SEAL, Petty Officer Matthew McCabe, who was the only one actually charged with the abuse. This is fantastic news, indeed.
rlaWTX, I'm glad you like them. We ask these things to give people a chance to think about things they might never have thought about before.
I have never seen the reason for any conflict between aliens and the existence of God. I never did understand why so many people think the two are incompatible?
In terms of understanding everything, I'm still trying to wrap my head around where exactly the universe is. I think that question alone shows a glaring gap in our ability to perceive what is really going on in the world around us. That means there is so much more than we can understand at the moment, and it makes the whole “question of everything” truly fascinating.
In terms of Contact, I was very impressed that they gave such a fair presentation to religion through the Matthew M. character -- when he told her to prove she loved her father, I thought that was a brilliant description of faith.
LOL! I thought the same thing as LawHawk when I read this post!
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