>We perceive aliens to be a
>threat, and thus, we take
>a defensive stance whenever we
>entertain the thought of the
>possiblity of aliens being amonst
>our midst.

Fear of the unknown. I don't think it has anything to do with the Media (I'm capitalizing the Media from now on since it seems to have become it's own entity), it's just people's natural reaction to things that are completely unknown to them.


>Why do we always feel threatened
>whenever we realize that there
>is other lifeform out there
>that wants to co-exist with
>us?

Well, I don't know about other life trying to live with us, but if UFOs were to come down it's more likely they'd be greeted by the Marines than by diplomats. The threatenign feeling comes from humna history where the technologically advanced civilization almost always takes over the indiginous culture when they come in contact. Why we would extrapolate human behavior to alien behavior I don't know, probably because that's all we have to work with.

>How about, they may have been
>here before us, inhabiting this
>piece of rock.

???

----------------------------------------
Not every end is a goal. The end of a melody is not its goal; however, if the melody has not reached its end, it would also not have reached its goal. A parable.
--Nietzsche