"We will not go quietly into the night!"

Extraterrestrial beings would only present themselves on earth if they were looking to act in a hostile way. Think about it. If these aliens have the capability of coming to earth in the first place, then their technology is much, much more advanced. They would have a vast understanding of the universe, other planets and their system of governance, an unfathomable world beyond our wildest dreams. Their intelligence would far surpass ours. Now if humans found out about extraterrestrial life it would literally turn our world on its head. Everything as we know it would come crashing down around us. Any rational and humanitarian alien (no pun intended) would realize that our fragile little existence on planet Earth is already plagued with problems, and that a revelation of such a magnitude would only bring down our species.
Take, for example, the “lost” Amazonian tribe recently discovered in Brazil. This tribe of aborigines has never had contact with the modern world, they are primitive beings. Trying to assimilate them into contemporary society would be disastrous to them- not only would their culture be lost, but the shock of it would no doubt be more than they could handle. And would they be any happier? Thus Brazil is doing all that it can to shelter them and let them continue to live in isolation.

Which brings me back to my main point: if aliens landed on Earth, they’d be looking for a fight. Or at least to violate some territorial sovereignty. Let me quote from Independence Day (Not gonna lie, love that movie. They’re actually releasing an Independence Day II next year. Everyone has some sci-fi nerd in them- I mean when I was 10 I wanted to work for SETI). One part particularly sticks out in my mind (transcript here):

Medical Lab: The President has moved closer to the glass and is talking with the alien.

President: Why did you people come here?
Alien: Air...water...your “sun.”
President: Where do your people come from?
(no answer)
Where is your home?
Alien: Here…now.
President: And before here?
Alien: Many worlds…
President: Can we negotiate a truce? Is there room for co-existence?
(no answer)
Can there be peace between us?
Alien: Peace? No peace.
President: What do you want us to do?
Alien: Die.
[Anecdote: this is actually the analogy my dad used to explain radical Islamic terrorists to me post-9/11. Keep in mind I was in 6th grade]

I have to take a realist-constructivist position on what our steps would be in this situation, because we don’t know how the aliens operate. According to constructivism, our society is the way it is because we choose to reproduce the actions that make it so. PTJ’s constructivism podcast states that “sovereign states recognize each other and the responsibilities and rights that go with.” It goes on to mention war, and that even in a time when all bets are off, the Red Cross and Geneva Convention are still respected and followed. That’s because we do, as human beings, hold certain collective ideals. This alien civilization does not.

World governments would likely sit tight for a while. Try to cooperate and be civil to the aliens while trying to figure out what in the world is going on (again with the lame puns), while beefing up their military out of fear. Evangelicals would hail Judgment Day and the scene in Independence Day where the hippies are on top of the Empire State Building would likely come to pass (Emily and Tori would be up there with “Citizen of the Universe” posters :)). The US government would probably react in a bit more volatile manner; evacuating all large government buildings, etc, while assuring the public to “stay calm.” It would be a general sense of chaos until the aliens attacked- in which case we would quite frankly be screwed.

While we’re on the topic of constructivism, watch the trailer for Independence Day. Maybe I’m just easily brainwashed blockbuster prey, but that gets my heart pumping. In the event of having to fight the aliens, the world would unite. As constructivists argue, the social meaning of our society would change and our relationships as individual nations would change. We would identify ourselves as a human collective (fast forward to 1:55, when Israel and Iraq gear up to fight together against their common foe), and distinguish the aliens as others. Even in the title, Independence Day, and when the president declares, "we will not vanish, we will live on, this is our independence day," it not-too-subtly reflects our values of freedom and individuality. Hmm, maybe it will take an interplanetary attack to achieve true world peace.