Extraterrestrial First Contact: Culture Wars

Here’s a frightening thought: could a high information extraterrestrial First Contact event lead to extensive civil disturbance in America and other countries? That may sound crazy, but let’s review the current situation in the United States. Political divisions are not just pronounced, they’re volatile. The January 6 riot at the US Capitol is the most obvious example. 

There are many differences in the United States between the two major parties- Democrats and Republicans. But when you boil it down, the biggest conflict between the two parties is over change. In general, Republicans want the organization of American society to stay as it has been and perhaps even revert to past power structures. Generally, Democrats want things to change. Those "things" range from LGBTQ rights to political power for minorities. Economic transitions are also a big factor. The changing landscape for the American worker is of great concern for many Republicans. A 2020 PRRI survey, as reported in USNews.com, “showed that 46%  of Republicans think American culture and the nation's way of life have changed for the better since the 1950s, compared to 62% of Democrats.” That may not seem like a big difference, until you consider what some of those folks on the right are willing to do to get their way. Denying the results of a Presidential election and storming the US Capitol are extreme measures.

High information extraterrestrial contact has the potential to be the most radical change in human history. While polls show that people are generally accepting of the concept of extraterrestrial intelligence, I have not seen any surveys that ask about high information first contact and the prospect of cultural change. What would people fear? Losing the same things they are worried about losing now: culture, power, and position. 

Those fears could be exacerbated by extraterrestrial contact. And some of the concerns would be quite reasonable. Humans would have to be careful in such a situation to make sure that a technologically advanced alien culture did not supplant our human cultures. That could happen even if the extraterrestrial visitors are benevolent. And it’s not just a cultural risk. A tsunami of new scientific information could destroy the foundation of our sciences.

I am using the United States as the primary example here, just because it is the situation I am most familiar with. However, I would imagine conflict could occur in countries across the planet. There may be different underlying fears nation to nation, some based in religion, but the result could be the same- a chaotic debate, perhaps turning violent.

So, what could we do to prevent extreme reactions? I think the most important remedy would be listening. It would be ridiculous to assume that there is a “right way” and a “wrong way” to view extraterrestrial contact. We should have a public dialogue to discuss concerns and opportunities. It must start as an open forum and then world leaders need to take that input and develop a plan for moving forward. Such a worldwide discussion has never been undertaken in human society. It would have to be led by the media in each country and then progress to an international level. The discussion shouldn’t just involve politicians and civic leaders. One would hope that the media would undertake surveys to find out what the public is thinking in each nation. Perhaps those surveys could be combined to establish a snapshot of the international perspective. The leaders of powerful nations would not only need to listen to their own people, but ultimately concerns from other nations. Fringe groups would likely try to steer the debate in the direction of their choosing through radical, and perhaps violent, actions.

In the end, decisions on how to move forward would probably have to be carried out in the United Nations. Does that mean that the United Nations should control First Contact diplomacy? No. The United Nations General Assembly can be a process body to carry out the decisions of the nations. It is simply the only body set up to handle such international decision-making. UN involvement would likely be another flashpoint for some groups. It’s important to realize that the only way for an individual nation to be represented in First Contact decision-making is through a common body and the UN is the only common body on planet Earth that represents the great majority of nations. A nation, deciding that it didn’t want to participate, would be relinquishing power to other nations. That would be a big mistake.

Am I being too negative about these challenges in the wake of First Contact? I might have had a more reserved prediction for conflict a few years ago. Not now. Not after what has occurred in the United States and other nations in recent years. We are primed for a huge disaster if we don’t listen to each other and make sensible decisions in the wake of extraterrestrial First Contact. We didn’t do a very good job handling the international effort required to combat COVID-19. Let’s hope we learned a few lessons from the experience.

I explore these ideas in my recent book: “The Extraterrestrial Big Hello: A Guide for What to do When the Aliens Introduce Themselves.” It’s available on Amazon worldwide.