Boring the Alien

[gurdonark]

I'm always intrigued by the various modes of thought that could get one persecuted by the powers that be in ages past. One could be burned at the stake for a host of rather interesting notions, frequently affecting the governing religious thinking of one's time and place. Even today, state boards of public education for schools become exercises in curious democracy, as the forces opposed to the theory of evolution rally to ensure that textbooks point out that it's only a theory.

One "they persecute one for believing this" thing in times past was the belief that the earth is not the center of the universe. It's an odd but true fact that people were threatened with execution for having the audacity to suggest that the earth circled the sun, rather than vice versa.

Too often, this kind of weird persecution is just written off as "the effects of intolerant religion" and chalked up to the follies of a prior age. But I wonder even today if we do not see ourselves as more special than we truly have proven to be.

I've been thinking a lot about alien contact, the notion that our descendants may someday encounter intelligent life on other planets. I personally view this as inevitable, so long as we continue our current science-based course and avoid global thermonuclear self-destruction. I do not believe I will see it, or my great grand-nieces will see it. But I do believe that it will happen. I am not sure what people are for, but I am sure they are curious.

But lately, as I wrestle with related but rather different notions in my odd, ruminative, less-a-novella-than-a-long-first-person-journal-entry-set-in-the-24th-Century nanowrimo.org project, I have an insight. How many science fiction novels have I read in which the aliens consider humans a bit backward and impetuous, but admire our fighting spirit or our curious quirkiness? This notion is as old as the era of science fiction's golden age itself. I must have read a hundred novels with this theme, and variants of it appear in Star Trek, Babylon 5, the movies and other media outlets. Also, I can think of tons of times when humans move to the forefront of space exploration, and become integral parts of galactic interlocked civilizations. Even as we realize we are not alone, and we are not all-powerful, and God's plan involves far more complex things than we imagine, we still wonder if, perhaps we aren't "special".

But I wonder if this isn't yet another Catholic Church v. Galileo bit of arrogance on our part. This leads me into another theory of mine. One does not quite learn all one needs to know in kindergarten, though that is a fun book. A great deal of what one needs to know is learned in one's early teen years, in "junior high" if one wills. I have learned all I need to know about aliens at dances and, later in life, in disco dance halls.

When one was not particularly strong or handsome or witty, then school events did not involve the really cool members of the opposite sex coming up to one and saying "You know, you're a bit backward, but you have a unique distinctiveness and pioneer spirit! When are you going to ask me to dance?". No, it didn't really work like that at all. Instead, one worked for hours to work up the courage to ask someone to dance, and often the result was that someone would say, politely but a bit glazed over "sorry, I'm a bit tired right now". In my twenties, I found that the glazed looks and the once-over rejection came before one even got up the nerve to ask to dance.

I will not belabor my metaphor. I just wonder if we don't imagine that humans are Ethan Frome and Uma Thurman, when we are really a very young Fred and Ethel Mertz. After all, though we did put a man on the moon, we haven't even solved how to take a global-capability agricultural production system and feed our own people. I worry that when we finally meet the aliens, we're going to seem boring as dirt.

There are worse things than being boring as dirt. I'd hate to be the equivalent of a barfly, hanging on the words of everyone we meet, praying for a lasting love connection. I have often found that fundamentally boring people contract happy marriages, do good works at the local schools and libraries, keep churches thriving, grill a good steak, and ensure that the Boston fern is always grown. But I am amused that even as we realize our insignificance in this big old universe, I wonder if we don't still primp ourselves a bit, and say "my goodness, we're cool", and miss the point, just a little.

My own theory is that the search for knowledge is a big part of why we are here. I'd love to see us spend 1/100th of what we spend on space programs and weapons systems on exploring the deepest sea, where I am convinced that incredible wonders await.
I'd like to see us solve hunger, cure schizophrenia, and develop a really profound understanding of peace studies.

But I'm not so sure that even when we get our various intellectual and spritual acts together, whether we're going to be the belle of the ball, or its doorman.

What if one gets to Heaven, and is assigned to servant's quarters?
In fact, isn't this a wonderful part of our religious heritage, that in Judaeo-Christian theology we all occupy in essence servant's quarters? Some philosophers see this as a sad thing, but I believe it shows a humility we might access to our benefit,
if we ever meet an alien.

Comments

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

(still in amazement you can post something like THIS, while writing a 50,000 word novel, AND being a full time attorney with a married life--- I'm convinced you're BATMAN!)
Your *servants quarters* position sounds very Buddhist in principle to me.
As for the dance thing and alienation--here's MY story:
Not that I thought myself to be anything but a hopeless, hapless DWEEB reject that never dated or went to a dance in High School-- but in actuality I was a very pretty blonde haired girl, certainly not UNATTRACTIVE in the surface kind of way--
and yet, when our gym class would once a year be CO-ED for a 6week session of SQUARE DANCING (this was Illinois afterall)--and rather than numbering off and pairing up, which would have been the equitable and less humiliating process-- the boys would cross the gym from the other side and pick a girl. Guess who was left standing there unpicked. Yup--- ME. Even the fat girls were taken up before me. Usually there'd be one boy left who was just too incredibly shy and anti-social that he'd stall out until there was no other choice but the gym teacher to urge us to be partners. The damned kid couldn't even do that on his own! And being a teenager, I assumed that this was due to the fact that I was the most repulsive person on the planet.
Tell me why this repeatedly happened to me? I would still like to know WHY? This is when I funded my theory that I am, in fact, from an alien planet and somehow I give off death rays to humans and that's why they avoid me at all costs.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

My belief is that self-esteem is the ultimate elixir of interconnection. When I was a young teen, one girl was drop dead gorgeous, but nobody realized it at the time. She could have launched a thousand ships,but she lacked any self-confidence. She was of the "tried too hard" persuasion. I think back on how attractive she was, and realize that it is not looks, but self-assurance, that seems to be the biggest attractant.

I'm having great fun right now with journal entries like this, a bleed over from this novel writing process. My work, interestingly, is as busy as it's been in a while, so it's funny how the busier one gets, the more time one has for fun. It's paradoxical, but maybe it's because one needs to have the pilot light lit with lots of busy-ness to really turn up the gas.

Re:

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

She was of the "tried too hard" persuasion. --- I always thought those were the girls who got asked out a lot-- because they pursued the boys. I was far too shy and scared of boys to ever do that. Plus my traditional Mom told me that girls are supposed to wait for the boy to do the asking. (that was the worst piece of advice I ever got)-- I think if I'd kept doing that--I probably never would have gotten together with Jon, and I'd probably be an old spinster.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I certainly don't think girls should wait for boys to "do the asking". "trying too hard", though, is that odd pheronome of desperation, that weird, "choose me, though I'm not good enough".
I think one can ask anyone out with assurance, and it's just a matter of individual taste, while "pick me, pick me" is not a good strategy. Thank goodness that is all long ago and far away.

[akhliber.livejournal.com]

"it's funny how the busier one gets, the more time one has for fun."

i've always felt somewhat similarly, but i've never looked at it quite like that. for me, it was always "the busier one is, the more likely one is to remember to have fun" (or something along those lines).
it's almost like motivation feeds upon itself and spreads like a fire once i actually get up and take the step of doing something that requires some effort, but that will end up being really rewarding. most of the time ends up being spent sitting at this computer looking for distractions, and i don't appreciate the hours that go by while i'm sitting here. but once i get into a routine of making myself go on picture adventures, or on bike rides on the weekends, or of cleaning up around the house every night, once i start putting effort into my life more regularly, it's almost like my awareness of my time develops like a muscle, and as a result it seems all of the sudden like i have so much more time to do the things i enjoy.
i constantly feel like there isn't enough time to do the things that are really important to me. i'll have a 12 hour day at work and then come home and spend 6 hours sitting at the computer sulking and telling myself that my day was wasted at work and i've no time left to do something worthwhile.
yesterday, jenna and i went for a bike ride, and i was once again reminded of how well one's time can really be spent.
as much as i wish i could grow out of this, or somehow get past it, it's always pretty rewarding when i get to the part of the whole cycle where i'm reminded of how precious and abundant time really is.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I love that phrase "how precious and abundant time really is". This was a thoughtful comment, and thanks for sharing it.

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I was BEYOND being a wallflower. Apparently I was a wall cockroach.

[amatrixangel.livejournal.com]

as the forces opposed to the theory of evolution rally to ensure that textbooks point out that it's only a theory.

I'm amazed that they do that. It's sort of like calling 'gravity' only a theory. Our departmental boards of education here tell it like it is and don't pander to morons. I think it's about time you people changed the Constitution in the United States from Freedom of Speech to Freedom from Idiots. Many people there seem to be confused by the 'freedom of speech' thing.
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I like what the Irish comedian Dave Allen said about heaven. He said that in heaven there is a big wall you can't see over. Why? Because the Catholics like to think they are the only ones there :p