National Geographic running special about world responses to alien attack

[Stillwater]

I thought this was sort of a curious show, featured by National Geographic. It might be interesting, I will see if there is someplace online I can see it later.

The information about overview, episodes and some video footage here:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/when-aliens-attack/5357/Overview

It is interesting... perhaps a response to all of the fictional media depicting aliens attacking major cities on a world-scale.

I can't help but think of something Wernher Von Braun (a father of rocketry)  is often quoted with, saying that in the coming years those with a deep-seated agenda for militarization of the world and its reasources would, after they had exhausted talking about more local threats of world nuclear opponents, use the suggested threat of potential alien invasions to persuade the public into giving them the backing they need to carry out their militant wishes. I can't help but see a fraction of truth to this view, considering statements like this are attached to the show's overview:

"Small nuclear missiles like the W-54 warhead might be humanities best shot at fighting an extra-terrestrial ground invasion force."

There are some people who address the "Fermi Paradox" (If intelligent life is so mathematically likely to be common, why don't we see evidence of it?) by saying that perhaps there is a good self-preservation motivated reason for alien civiliations not to seek contact, and maybe alien civilizations even surmise that if they themselves have never been contacted, that their peers must also have good reasons not to seek contact. If this is so, perhaps there is indeed great danger in possible contacts; there is no way to know for certain, however.

It is quite unclear to me what potential motivations an alien civilization might have in seeking contact of some kind or another, and they may make contact for either violent and aggressive reasons, or more altruistic ones, but it does seem to me the one is depicted far more readily than the other...

[Wi11iam]

I would suggest that the main reason humans think in terms of invasion has to do with our own history, and often science fiction portrays us as behaving aggressively toward any civilisation we come across, as well as act defensively to the unknown.  Under the circumstances this would be quiet natural.

In order for a successful interaction, humans would have to be convinced that there is no ulterior motive, but I suspect that the issue won't arise unless for a reason that the 'aliens' themselves might find necessary.
In that case they might be able to cripple any potential threat humans might pose to them, but in any event, due to human media, there will be a portion of humanity that will panic, and harm themselves and others in the process.

[CFTraveler]

Very interesting thread.