An Urge From Within, A Calling From Without
Think about it like aliens for a second. There is no conclusive evidence that extraterrestrial intelligence exists, but the odds that we are alone in the universe are infinitesimal. Claims of first-hand encounters with alien life forms abound, though upon scrutiny these claims are unverifiable at best.
Like god, aliens are deeply embedded in the public consciousness. As such, there are those who consider their existence a foregone conclusion; and others who demand to see proof, and seeing none, dismiss the whole affair as pure hokum.
But, unlike with the god question, nobody goes to war over aliens. Nobody starts a riot about it. Nobody is in prison because of their belief — or lack thereof — in aliens. People don’t even get into fistfights about it.
The existence of either god or alien life forms, were they proven conclusively either way, would have huge, unforeseeable implications for the human conception of the universe and our place in it. It’s entirely possible (though not entirely likely) that further exploration of one may shed light on the other.
Both possibilities spark a conflagration in the human imagination. We are born dreamers, and dreaming informs the kinds of truth we seek.
Both aliens and god seem to be made in man’s image. What’s the likelihood that if an extraterrestrial being came to earth it would be a carbon-based, roughly human-shaped biped, complete with terrestrial mammalian limbs and digits, eyes — even a face! Who’s to say the being wouldn’t be gaseous? Or liquid? Or an element we’ve never encountered before?
The same could be imagined of the origin or “creator” of the universe, if such a thing there be. The Unknown could, in fact, be unknowable. Just as a being incapable of three-dimensional perception could not comprehend the human world, it is possible that realities exist beyond our perception, yet in our very midst. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Knowing that I don’t know, understanding that until a presence makes itself known — if it does, in fact, exist — I am forced NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IT. Besides, despite the question of gods or aliens, there is climate change. Climate change is very real, and its existence is certainly of the utmost urgency. God or no god, our fate — and the fate of billions of terrestrial life forms — is in our own hands.
