February 12, 2004
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If we were relocating to a new planet one day, how would we resolve the issue of being aliens? How would we treat indigenous life forms? How should we? What should be our code of conduct?
Hmmmm. It seems to me, we've already done this and failed miserably. American Indians ring a bell?
We can't resolve the issue of being aliens, because we would be aliens. The question is, would they accept us? That depends on how we treat them, which I think would be obvious.
How would we treat the indigenous life forms? Probably the same way we treat everything else in and out of this country. As if we were the best thing since sliced bread to come into their existence, and how DARE they balk at it! How should we treat them? With respect, gratitude, and humility.
The code of conduct, I have some trouble with. I would think it should be more general until specific issues came up. In other words, showing respect to the new planetary home, and being respectful of the creatures already living there, that sort of thing. Eventually though, bad things will happen, and new rules of conduct will have to be established, because there will always be someone with bad behavior. Have you ever read the directions on some household appliances, or even a bottle of hairspray? You may think the cautionary passages are... erm... redundant or self-explanatory, but the truth is, someone did it in order for it to be a cautionary tale.
