Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

Whether or not alien beings are really "out there," the subject of their possible arrival on Earth speaks volumes about the nature of the human race.

What am I hearing from people?  I listen to Coast to Coast AM every night of the week.  People call in to the show from all over the world.  I've heard a voice from virtually every country and every continent, and they're all saying the same thing about the aliens.   Coast to Coast AM is the one place I know where we can consider such subjects.

When the aliens arrive, they'll bring us free energy.  When the aliens come, they'll give us life extension.  When aliens make themselves known, they will be able to save the environment.  When we can finally talk to the aliens face-to-face, we'll have time-travel technology.

Why?  Why would any of this happen?  What leads people to think any alien culture would wish to give us anything at all?  What make us think we're deserving of any alien technology?  And why does everybody think that this would be a good thing anyway?

This attitude of "give us this, give us that" would seem to support my theory that we are a planet of children, for all intents and purposes.  A child might really like a car - would you give a child a car, along with the keys?  A child might like the way a gun goes bang - would you give the child a gun, with no understanding of what it really is and what the consequences of its use would be?  Would you introduce sex to a child, when it's physically and mentally not equipped to understand it?  These things could injure the child, and could very easily end the child's life. 

Not only could advanced alien technology be dangerous and damaging to us, but I also have to ask the question, why on Earth should they give us anything in the first place?  Try to put yourself in the alien's shoes for a moment.  Imagine yourself traveling to another planet with a lower level of technology than your own, and when you show your presence to the local population, they say gimme, gimme, gimme.  Gimme your high-tech.  Gimme your long life.  Gimme all of your knowledge and all of your power.  


That would put a planet of dangerous children on the same technological level as you.  


Why would you put your civilization at risk like that?  Why would you hand a gun to someone that you thought might try to kill you?  Intentionally or by accident?  


You wouldn't do that.  You would keep your high-technology close to your vest.  You would do everything in your power to make sure the planet of dangerous children couldn't harm you, or your family, or your society.  


You would actually quarantine the dangerous children, for their sake and for yours. 


If we ever show signs of civilization as a planet, we might someday be mature enough to handle such technologies, and by then we might have discovered them on our own anyway.  If that happens, hopefully we will have the ethics appropriate to our level of technology.  


Maybe then we'll be ready to join the rest of the family as responsible adults.