Why do many people believe that aliens are coming to save us?

I always wonder why so many people believe that aliens will finally come and make themselves known to mankind in an effort to save us from ourselves. The typical scenario goes something like this; Mankind will be at the brink of a global nuclear holocaust or a global environmental collapse and, at the last minute, aliens will come and intervene. I'm sure it has to do with popular culture and shows such as Star Trek.

For some reason, people believe that the Earth is a "special" planet and its's survival is, in some way, of paramount interest to the aliens. Or that the aliens have a vital interest in saving us from ourselves because they hope to stop our planet, for example, from using nuclear weapons -- as if the radiation from an all out nuclear exchange on Earth could somehow cause the aliens harm.

Think about it....if an alien race has the ability to traverse Outer Space, crossing solar systems or even galaxies, a little bit of radiation would hardly affect them considering that Outer Space is farm from a welcoming environment itself.

Isn't it just as logical to assume that aliens would travel all that way to Earth for reasons that are a bit more in line with an alien cultures' self-interest. Considering mankinds own history, Columbus and Cortez did not cross the Atlantic to simply make friends with the native Americans. They sought to exploit the New World and it's inhabitants and that's exactly what they did. Don't you think that any aliens that would be heading our way would have similar goals....that of conquering and exploiting the Earth?

I think man is hardwired to expect salvation from something, be it aliens, a savior, time travelers, mama.

The prospect of being alone and responsible for your own fate is a hard concept for a species that is matriarchial. That is to say mama will save us and comfort us in times of crisis. This archetype is very "sticky" when the female is responsible for the care and feeding of the young as is the case with primates/humans.

The "hero" mythos transends all cultures.

Sorry to sound like a sophmore anthro geek. Just random thoughts.

Tyrant I'll probably be up all night thinking about this. Thanks a lot!

The Columbus/Cortez analogy dosen't work for me as it's humans exploiting weaker humans. What could beings able to transverse time and space possibly want from talking monkeys?

Ive always been fond of the cows in the pasture, not even realizing the cattle truck is on the way to take em to the slaughter house; analogy.

Plenty of people disappear all the time never to be seen again. Maybe humans are a delicacy like snails or shrooms and earth is just a pasture and the farmer hardwired the savior myth into us so we wouldn't wither on the vine. Sorry about the mixed metaphors!

I don't think I've ever read a majority of opinions that ETs are here to save humanity. Most ET reports and opinions that I have read seem to be that of ET hostility.

Apparent secret movements, abductions, experimentation, or worse. ET actions, if these are their actions, don't appear clear or even positive towards humanity.

What ETs tell some humans might just well be lies to further confuse the issue of their presence. Actions speak louder than words and while not being privvy to why ET actions are what they are, they don't seem to be very positive in nature from the human point of view.

It seems to be more the case to myself that ETs observe first and foremost. Perform occasional tests to check on the general health of the flora and fauna despite the will of the test subject. And sometimes give warnings about the future to those they contact. I have read very little in the way of ETs claiming they'll bail humans out of any problems, though such claims have shown up in the material I come across from time to time. Its not a widely reported claim that I have noticed.

I will say that if ETs are so interested in this particular planet that they watch it and interact with it constantly, seeing it destroyed is probably not something they would want to see happen. Since they also seem to not want to wage war to remove humans and instead perform in a clandestine fashion, it appears they also want to see human society remain. Putting human emotions or thought processes into the actions of these very mysterious beings would definitely be assuming too much. So there really is no way to tell what their ultimate intentions are.

[edit on 22-9-2005 by heelstone]

I think if ETs are here then their motive will be up to us to find out. Just because humanity acts certain ways, driven by their instinct and drives does not mean any ETs would have the same wiring. So their "goal" would be anybody's guess.

There are many books to read. Not saying have not read books on the UFO suject, but there are many out there and only some can help with the quest.

Dallas