What aliens can teach us about being human

By Janet Marugg | FāVS News Columnist

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.

Just when I thought reality turned the corner on it, aliens (from outer space) are back for consideration. My habit is conspiracy dismissal for lacking sufficient evidence, but not responding is literally irresponsible, and I’m trying to step up and be more responsible. So here goes one humanist’s consideration of other, particularly alien, lifeforms.

First, a confession that is also an answer. My least favorite thing about humanism is the tendency to superiorize humans over everything else evolving alongside us in this ever-expanding universe. And the truth is that every evolving life form alongside us is superior and the best adapted to its place in the universe. It is not us against them; it is us with them. 

Superiority, it turns out, is overrated because without friction, there is no growth. Our nature is to adapt or die — that is the human condition — we need to keep our ability to adapt sharp.

Despite the cling to primitive tribal xenophobia, we are professional adapters. Humans selected and evolved as adaptable, cooperative, social beings. Human life was never a sole-survivor story.

We are here today because, hard as it is to adapt and coexist with others, hard is also good for us. Without the push to cooperate with and exist with others, humans stand to devolve. As modernity draws us into one human tribe sharing the planet, learning to adapt to alien lifeforms is not an illogical next step. 

When I meet a human with a different culture, people with different melanin levels and others with words I don’t know, I can choose to stretch — to understand something new and know something I didn’t know before. I’m confident my mind will stretch if I ever meet an alien because it must.

Every major world religion has deep tenets for followers to welcome strangers as guests or even divine visitors. The Bible, for instance, commands us to welcome and care for strangers at least 36 times. Islam demands hospitality, respect, and care for others. Hinduism emphasizes hospitality toward all, known and unknown, while Buddhism promotes loving kindness toward friend and stranger alike. 

The other day, I wrote a eulogy for American minds after listening to a lecture on agnotology. Agnotology is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance or doubt, often created by the strategic spread of misinformation. I recognize it and wonder if I am witnessing human devolution. And I think maybe we’d get a boost by adding alien intelligence to get us out of a rut.

At the end of the eulogy, I call for a renaissance of intelligent life, a break from closed circles, a revival of imagination, a re-enchantment with beauty and justice. 

The thing is this: the universe is knowable, and the very next thing humans should learn is what we don’t yet know. As the universe is infinite, so are there infinite things to know — exactly the ingredients required for a renaissance.

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