All one needs to do is read the newspaper, or watch any one of a slew of news channels to see the amount of human putrescence ravaging the planet. Anything from humans committing crimes against each other, to humans committing crimes against their own environment. Everyone is guilty of it, including myself. Humans are the only species on the planet that kill or hurt each other for pleasure. Some think this due to our brains being more developed or evolved than any of the other species. If we think about the history of human development or evolution in terms of a human lifespan, then we now are in what would be known as our technological adolescence. It is very doubtful in my opinion that we will survive as a species. We will most certainly destroy ourselves, as we've destroyed everything else we touch. More than likely it will be biological warfare or something along those lines.
Let's assume for a moment that we are not the only life in the vast expanse of the universe, which is probably the case. There have been people who claimed visitors from other worlds have made contact with them, or claimed seeing UFOs, etc. Most have been dis proven, some have not. Let put ourselves in the place of an advanced life form, millions of years more advanced than us, capable of interstellar travel, and a host of other technologies unfathomable to our primitive minds. The chance that said life form would want to visit us for any other reason than to study us from afar, is remote at best. As that advanced life form, would you want to visit a species so far beneath you on the evolutionary ladder that you would more than likely be attacked or killed by doing so? I think not. The equivalent would be traveling back in time with a helicopter and landing it outside a cave full of neanderthals, who would promptly commence throwing rocks and spears at it.
In 1977, the Voyager spacecraft was launched just as a probe, and loaded on board was a golden record playing various sounds of Earth, greetings in numerous Earth languages, and of course, coordinates on how to get here.
In the end, the scientists responsible figured that the odds of the spacecraft coming in contact with intelligent life, were the same as a person shooting an arrow in the air, and hitting a one inch square target on the ground a mile away. Not impossible, but highly improbable. From then on it became more of a time capsule than anything else. But what if beings were to actually find what is essentially an invitation to come visit us, and drop by for dinner? The first thing our new "friends" would encounter would be 3 or 4 F-22 Raptors scrambled by Uncle Sam as soon as they entered Earth's airspace. Hopefully, the visitors would be smart enough to land somewhere remote, possibly in a country with little or no military. Inevitably, we would probably shoot them down, because we don't trust anybody, and we'd rather shoot first and ask questions later. Another side effect of being human.
Now you say "Not all humans are like that". Well, unfortunately the ones who "aren't like that" aren't the ones running the show. The ones that would graciously greet alien visitors with open arms and an open mind are in the minority.
I stand outside myself from time to time, and look at the world as a whole. I'm mainly trying to gain new perspective or maybe grasp the concept of what's going on, and I realize that the more and more I think about humans and human behavior as it stands now, the more and more embarrassed I am to be one. If I were an intelligent life from another world, I wouldn't want to come here either. As a whole, we're idiots. We still let the stupidest things govern the way we live our lives instead of just living. Everything from made up deities, to material possessions to hating people that aren't like we are. These are all just distractions for beings who through the generations have apparently become so bored with who they are that they lust for new things to argue about, purchase or praise. I am no different, and am guilty as much as any other human. We have lost our way. We as a society should be more concerned with bettering ourselves and the planet for everyone, not just for ourselves.
Think of what the planet would look like if everyone on it cared about everyone else's well being as much as they cared about their own. Everyone would have the necessities like food, shelter and clothing. The environment and human development would become the world's top priority. Sound like some sort of skewed socialism to you? That's the problem. Everyone who thinks that all people having equal things like pay, medical care, etc. is a bad idea are just plain greedy. People in general think that they are owed something, or deserve more than the next person. No matter how much a person has, they always want a little more. Let's face it. Just how much useless crap do you really need? When will it ever be enough to make you happy? The short answer is never. Not until we change our own perspective and priorities.
It pains me sometimes to see just how many people have secured themselves in their own little "bubble" of reality. I think if more people stood outside themselves and looked at what was going on around them, that they would be scared out of their mind, and want to do something to change it. But, it's quite hard to break the gaze from the boob tube, and turn off Lost or Survivor, or some other meaningless drivel that's spewed from the box. If it doesn't happen on one of the top rated TV shows, then it just isn't worth thinking about. It's all about being led. The majority of humans want to be led. Whether it's by church officials, government officials, the most popular celebrities or whatever else, it seems as though the entire world needs someone or something to follow. A very small percentage think for themselves. Until humans can think more independently without succumbing to the pressures of fitting in, then I'll never think of the human race as intelligent, no matter how many fancy gadgets we come up with.
Well I think I've gone on long enough for now. Maybe you've taken something away from this, or maybe you've dismissed it all as useless. Either way, I feel better for seeing it written down, which was my original intent. I'll leave you with this little glimpse into my brain. My one wish.
This next part I say from the depths of my heart, and in all sincerity. If in some miraculous moment, an omnipotent being came to me and said "I'll grant you one wish, but one wish only. And no, you cannot wish for more wishes..."
It would take me only a moment to decide. "I wish that all humans and traces of human existence be wiped off the face of the planet simultaneously, except for the following things to remain untouched." The things I would spare are the great pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, the stone heads on Easter Island and Mount Rushmore. All other things created by man and mankind himself would disappear all at once. The Earth would be given back to itself and the animals. At least they have a symbiotic relationship with the Earth, and not a parasitic one like we do. The control of the planet would be given back to natural selection, just as it should be.
I highly recommend sitting outside on a clear night, and staring up to the stars. Try doing it without looking back down at Earth for at least fifteen minutes. The more your eyes adjust, the more stars you will see. I noticed that when staring at the stars, I can't help but realize just how small we all are in the grand scheme of things. It's a very humbling experience, and I think if more people were humbled more often, the world would look a lot different.
You may or may not agree with my views, but that's part of being human too I guess. Whatever you do, think about others as well as yourself, and always think for yourself. Don't ever be frightened to ask "why" things are the way they are.
