Often there are a great many snags involved in a search of this nature. Firstly, it`s been quite erroneous to assume we would be contacted directly by intelligent society outside our influence. It would be quite obvious that dealing with us as a whole would be somewhat difficult due to our overall nature. And in actuality, there may be something of a “prime directive” aka Star Trek, that prevents obvious contact.
This however, does not entirely rule out small groups or individuals being contacted, if such a thing has indeed happened. The evidence for such is extremely overwhelming, and has been has been so for possibly several thousand years. Indeed, our civilization may have been at some point technologically superior to it`s present development. There are great many discoveries still to be made, contrary to some opinions. In addition to our ignorance, we are more or less equally arrogant. We are not entirely sure even of our own origins. Possibly we ourselves may have been “seeded” from somewhere else.
In my opinion even the term Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence should even be somewhat abolished. It should read something like: Search for understanding our place, Search for Others Somewhat like us, Search for Survival and prosperity, etc..
There may be as well, much wisdom in a closer look at what we often consider the animal kingdom. May there actually be a species of animal smarter than us? Do we really know of all the species? We still know very little about the deepest Oceans, or the interior of our planet. And i do believe this is rightly so. Because in actuality, some of us may want or need at some point to secede as it were, to a remote area of the planet in case of emergency. So it`s quite a good thing there are remote, as it were, areas left.
Then there`s Antarctica. this has Ocean(s), land mass, & underground spaces largely unexplored. This is quite possibly the best place to search.
Lastly, and this is not emphasized enough or at all, many indigenous people have been largely ignored or wiped out where evidence has been concerned. Yet more of our arrogance at work here. So, the question turns in my opinion to: The prospect of life on Earth, or at least intelligent life. I almost hope that we never find life somewhere. That way it won`t be eaten, destroyed, enslaved, modified, etc..
Who knows that “they” may be actually waiting for contact with us ? If so, they are quite patient. How many years could they have been waiting to do so? What if they even “give up” on us? We may even be a tourist attraction or even a zoo by now. Or we may be a “Galactic” example of how not to be. We may even be artificially kept in our current state for just such purposes. This especially if one or more of our governments have already made secret contact. Civilizations like us may even be a rarity. Others like us would have destroyed themselves long ago. Perhaps we did destroy ourselves one or more times in our past. Perhaps we were rescued one or times. Perhaps we are even a menace to other life. Maybe we are being “groomed” as it were to defend other life. Not all of our society is hopeless, otherwise i don`t think we would still be here. Some universal law would prevent us from further mayhem if we did not have some purpose. So, quite obviously we not alone, even amongst ourselves. Many people are so different from another as to almost be “alien”, in and of itself. We have probably forgotten more than we have “supposedly” learned. So, it is not really so much discovering as remembering.
