On Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at 5:11:40 AM UTC-6, Gary Harnagel wrote:

Out of MILLIONS of civilizations, all that's needed is ONE to survive.

I have no quarrel with the statement that it is possible, and it even seems
likely, that there should be aliens far more advanced than humans out there.

Now, of course, somebody has to be first, and the fact that aliens don't seem to
have made themselves obvious in the Universe could be taken as evidence that
they don't exist. But that is projecting our own behavior on them.

Yes, it's a universal characteristic of life to expand as far as its environment
will allow. And, at the moment, humans don't really show that much sign of
behaving differently than aphids or yeast in this matter.

That we could grow up, and limit our reproduction for the sake of responsible
stewardship of our world, however, is not something I would characterize as
impossible; indeed, it would be a necessary condition for long-term survival.

No, my quarrel is far more simple. Those you speak of are in the category "elder
brother", not "father"; we should heed their greater wisdom, but not worship
them in the place of God.

John Savard