It does not seem wise to announce ourselves.

<blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic"><i>George Blahun said:</i><br>,,,I think any civilization with the capability of getting here, already knows we're here. Having said that, I fully support trying to find other life before engaging in an effort to announce our presence. The secret's probably out though, our nuclear detonations and the subsequent ripples in interstellar space in the 40s and 50s was probably announcement enough...<br></div></blockquote><br>You've been reading too much SF. Nuclear explosions are difficult to detect at reasonably close distances; the notion that they could be detected from a distant star is fictitious. But it doesn't matter, because there is no civilization with the capability to come here, and there probably never will be. Likewise, we won't be going anywhere outside our own solar system, either. And probably not much farther within the solar system than we've already been. Robotic spacecraft, maybe, humans no.

OK, I need help wrapping my mind around this article’s statements concerning religion:<br><br><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic">To answer these questions, the professor sent a questionnaire to 116 American, Italian, and Spanish university students. The survey assessed their knowledge of astronomy, their level of perception of the physical environment, their opinion on the place that things occupy in the cosmos, as well as religious questions. For example, "Do you believe that God created the universe?"</div></blockquote><br>I would probably be considered a “fundamentalist” Christian by most since I do believe the bible is the word of God...but my belief that God created the universe does not exclude the possibility that God also created life on other planets. So, I don’t understand the point of this question.<br><br>---<br><br><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic">"Regarding our relation with a possible intelligent extraterrestrial life, we should not rely on moral reference points of thought, since they are heavily influenced by religion..."</div></blockquote> <br><br>And to me, anyone who says there are situations in which “we should not rely on moral reference points of thought” demonstrates the person’s disdain for morals in general. In any case, what scenario, exactly, did the author have in mind where contact with ET puts us in a place where our morals are a hindrance and/or should be abandoned? Does he want to ask an ET out for a date?<br><br>---<br><br><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic">…It also revealed that the majority of people consider these subjects according to their religious belief and that they would rely on politicians (heaven help us) in the event of a huge global-scale crisis having to be resolved…</div></blockquote><br>So, if the populous is not ready to mentally come to grips with holding a dialogue with ET, and if our political leaders are unfit to lead in such a scenario… who then shall we call? Oh, I get it: we should hand over the reins of power to “the scientists”, the wise, the all-knowing scientists, who have no need for moral reference points of thought.<br>