So, when you were a kid, you used to fight with your brother or sister, right? Until, that is, you were in public. Once in public, little children who might be fighting at home invariably put on a united front. Because it is them versus the world. We see this pattern later in life with sporting teams - where supporters of the same team with nothing in common might hug each other at a footy match. In politics, too - people who barrack for different footy teams might support each other against the opposing political party, the 'foe'. And don't get me started on countries. People who might otherwise actually hate each other, support opposing football teams and despise each other's politics, will happily sing their national anthem together. They will even fight along side each other for god and country. So, the question is this: Would the world come together if we learned of an alien threat? Maybe. Maybe what the world needs right now is a visit from an alien, or evidence of it. Maybe only that has any chance of bringing the people of the world together - to see each other as one 'in group' with common interests. Whether it would stop all wars, promote cross cultural comradery and constitute the great precursor to global cooperation is not known, as it has never happened. But....it just might.