What we say about ourselves

I watched a movie today with a body count in the hundreds. People exploded. People were eaten alive by other people. It was stupid and fun afternoon amusement for a human. What would others think? What do graphic violence, horror and inhumanity say about us?

We can hope to be judged by the scope of our being. For every film filled with buckets of blood and gore, we have at least one that uses emotion and character to tell a complex story. Our music helps us rise above the common world. Our fiction brings us ideas that can shape the future.

We have much to answer for in the realm of the real. The Holocaust is difficult to comprehend on any level. No movie or novel could match that level of inhumanity.

I suppose it comes down to them. Do they come from a violent background? Do they understand our need for conflict? If so, perhaps we need to be afraid of them. If not, perhaps they are afraid of us.

Extraterrestrial First Contact. Alien First Contact.
Extraterrestrial contact