I wonder if a species such as humans, with all their morals and associations, could ever hope to understand or even effectively communicate with a species devoid of morals or associations? A species able to cross the vast distances of space and seriously more advanced than us but without the values and moral guidance humans have. A species possibly guided by direct stimuli alone. Task oriented with total disregard for the moral imperatives that keep us checked.
There would be no friendships, ownerships, pride, love, hate, enemies, favorites or anything except what is before them and how it affects their task. Would we see them as a threat? Could we even communicate with them? We don't have a very good track record of communicating with other species. How many animals can we sit down and have a conversation with about any subject? How many humans can we sit and converse with if our simple languages are not shared?
In the future, the far future, we may master the ability to communicate with some of the higher orders on this planet by teaching them to communicate on our level thru external means. We are trying but it is a very slow process and is the results just an illusion or are they actually communicating with us? For fun lets just put that two-way communication in place...What do we have?
The animals on our own planet may not be in alignment with our morals and associations. What if we found out that bunnies are sadistic killers at heart? Will we go around killing all the bunnies to remove the threat? Some might argue that now that the bunnies can think on our terms they will use that knowledge to kill everything. The same could be said that the bunnies with knowledge might be persuaded to give up their evolved hatred for all other life. To me, it's not the bunnies that are defective its us. We are so arrogant that we believe our ideals and morals are always the higher path.
Now, move this train of thought to a creature that has never known love, sunsets, compassion or morals. A creature that evolved under a different sun, gravity and food chain. To think that we might be able to have anything in common with a visiting alien is more of our delusions of grandeur. We would be wondering what these aliens 'think' of us. What are their 'plans' for us? What if they are here to contact the humpback whales and we humans are insignificant?
In the future humans, the one thing I would want for them is the ability to see themselves in perspective to the vastness of the Universe. To lose the need to persuade others to adopt their beliefs. To see that being different is not wrong - it's just different.
We war in the name of freedom. We war in the belief of religion. We war in the expression of the individual rights. We war for many reasons but it all boils down to not being able to accept differences. Perhaps freedom is not the normal way of things in the Universe? What if individuality is punished on the civilized worlds? What if all the religions are wrong and the only path that is accepted is the reality of the here and now?
The Philosophies of Man will need to change drastically before we will be able to become part of the Society of the Universe. Perhaps this is what the aliens are waiting for? Then again...The Universe just Might Not Care.