RobertScorpio
Pariah
contact with sentient Aliens from space or United Earth
what comes first #1
- Thread starter RobertScorpio
- Start date
RobertScorpio
Pariah
I don't think the world will ever be unified under one government, or at least, not for another 500+ years...so..I am going with contact with sentient outerspace aliens happening first...
Rob
Rob
No, What's on second. Who's on first.
(Just passing a joke forward from another thread...)
(Just passing a joke forward from another thread...)
RobertScorpio
Pariah
United earth government, I think aliens will be a while yet.
I just dont see it. I have traveled all over this world, and I can tell you, this would is never going to be united, culturally. That is why i think we will make contact with aliens first.
Rob
I'm leaning more towards this option, as well.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
I left that off, purposely, because we would all pick that. But if we DONT blow ourselves up, I think either one could happen..in fact (cue the twilite zone music) it may have already!!!
Rob
And there we have it. The final answer.
Well, looking at history, when the peoples of a given region are contacted from outside, it does tend to create in them a sense of a common identity in contrast to the outsiders when before they thought of themselves as separate groups (as seen in the Americas, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, etc.). On the other hand, that sense of shared identity doesn't translate to universal peace, and if anything there tends to be a split between factions who have different ideas of how to react to the outsiders (e.g. those who want to cooperate vs. those who want to resist, those who want to assimilate vs. those who cling to tradition, etc.).
I think it may happen way sooner than you think. Globalization has ensured that one day very soon the whole world will be operating under the same economic system. That can do a lot to change a countries culture. If that's not enough, it seems that in the not to distant future most of the world will adopt shared values involving the environment. That will also do a lot to change various cultures, including our own. I think there will certainly be a world government within a hundred or so years. As far as alien life, well the universe is vast so I'm not holding out hope for contact anytime soon.
I think there will have to be a global alliance or federation to allow us to collectively address global problems, establish a global framework of law and security, and so on, but a single, all-encompassing world government is unlikely. We're too diverse a people and too devoted to our cultural independence. It would have to be a system that allowed considerable local autonomy while giving everyone a voice in addressing transnational issues.
And alien contact wouldn't be any kind of magic bullet for achieving that. It has to come from within or it won't stick.
If alien contact does occur, it would almost certainly be by radio or laser signal across many parsecs of distance and many years of time. And these days, perhaps "contact" is the wrong word to use. With the telescopes and techniques we have now, we're within years, possibly months, of detecting habitable planets around other stars. As our methods continue to improve, we'll eventually find the spectroscopic signatures of water, oxygen, and other biomarkers, confirming the existence of life on an extrasolar planet. And if there are planets out there with technological civilizations, we'll be able to detect their city lights, their thermal and chemical effects on their atmosphere, and so on. Eventually we could have space telescopes powerful enough to make maps of planets dozens of parsecs away. So we won't need to rely on direct contact to gain knowledge of the existence of alien life. Contact may be centuries or millennia away. But the discovery of inhabited exoplanets, if they exist at all, is decades away at most.
And alien contact wouldn't be any kind of magic bullet for achieving that. It has to come from within or it won't stick.
If alien contact does occur, it would almost certainly be by radio or laser signal across many parsecs of distance and many years of time. And these days, perhaps "contact" is the wrong word to use. With the telescopes and techniques we have now, we're within years, possibly months, of detecting habitable planets around other stars. As our methods continue to improve, we'll eventually find the spectroscopic signatures of water, oxygen, and other biomarkers, confirming the existence of life on an extrasolar planet. And if there are planets out there with technological civilizations, we'll be able to detect their city lights, their thermal and chemical effects on their atmosphere, and so on. Eventually we could have space telescopes powerful enough to make maps of planets dozens of parsecs away. So we won't need to rely on direct contact to gain knowledge of the existence of alien life. Contact may be centuries or millennia away. But the discovery of inhabited exoplanets, if they exist at all, is decades away at most.
That sounds a lot like the system of government we have here in the U.S. We have our Federal system, but states have a certain amount of autonomy. That allows them to pass laws which often reflect the views and culture of their constituents. I don't see why a World Government based on such a system would be unworkable. Of course there are still arguments about states rights to this day, but we've managed to hold the Union together since the Civil War.
Like I said, that wouldn't work. Alliances formed in response to external threats are always temporary. Tensions may be set aside to deal with the threat, but as long as they remain unresolved, they just simmer beneath the surface and erupt again as soon as the threat is passed. In WWII, Americans made a concerted effort to set aside racial tensions and allowed women greater equality so everyone could be part of the war effort, but as soon as the war ended, racism and sexism resurged as strongly as ever. Similarly, we were allied with the Soviet Union during WWII, but mortal enemies with them again within a couple of years afterward.
There's no easy fix from outside. Unity has to come from within.
There's no easy fix from outside. Unity has to come from within.
I agree completely with that. I just think our values will continue to evolve over time. Most of us have far more enlightened views on race and sex issues than our grandparents did, which has helped unify us. There's still conflict, but at least we're headed in the right direction. I see that happening worldwide. Globalization doesn't just create and spread wealth, but also ideas and values, and today's technology allows such things to be spread at breakneck speeds. I'm not trying to make light of the enormity of the task. There are certainly very deep and embedded cultural differences among countries and factions of people, but I think that eventually we will share enough in common to make a Federalist system workable. But of course that's just complete conjecture on my part.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
I agree completely with that. I just think our values will continue to evolve over time. Most of us have far more enlightened views on race and sex issues than our grandparents did, which has helped unify us. There's still conflict, but at least we're headed in the right direction. I see that happening worldwide. Globalization doesn't just create and spread wealth, but also ideas and values, and today's technology allows such things to be spread at breakneck speeds. I'm not trying to make light of the enormity of the task. There are certainly very deep and embedded cultural differences among countries and factions of people, but I think that eventually we will share enough in common to make a Federalist system workable. But of course that's just complete conjecture on my part.
..and as i said, i dont see any of that happening for another 500+ years. You still have too many religious factions in this world that will hold on to their belief's for at least another 500 years; entire countries even. That isn't going away for a long long time...if ever, sadly.
that is why I think there's a better chance we make 'contact'. It may seem more far fetched, but based on what i know of the world? World Peace is a bigger 'pie in the sky' dream. in fact, the only chance we have for a unified world, IMO, is if aliens from outer space imposed it on us...
Rob
Contact will happen first. When? Who knows. But hopefully it might change our we look at fellow humans.
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