Paul Flesher at Religion Today suggests that we are not quite ready to meet extraterrestrials, since we still have a hard time appreciating the diversity in other human groupings and societies, never mind appreciating that any alien species we encounter will likely be as diverse as humanity is.
Our tendency in science fiction at present is still to depict one species as having one culture – or perhaps two rival factions – but nothing close to the diversity found among human beings. Presumably those species that have been expanding and exploring through space longer than we have may have achieved a higher degree of planetary unity than we have – but their expanded experience will likely also lead to increased diversity as well.
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