They found water on Mars, and as excited scientists like to remind us, water = life. So, could there be life on Mars, and if there, even if there was just one tiny speck of bacteria wafting around the Martian surface, what would that mean to us Earthings?

Every time I see one of the news stories about the latest findings on Mars, I can't help but think of the David Bowie song, "Life on Mars." There have been many interpretations of this song since it debuted in 1973, but for me the most powerful is the consistent yet subtle imagrey of the futility and fragility of the existence of man. We are flawed, imperfect, and lonely on our own planet. So what impact would discovering we are not alone in our own solar system have on us?

I am hopeful we find other life in the universe, in our own solar 'backyard,' but truthfully I am afraid to find it now. Not for our sakes, but for the lifeforms that we find.

Earthlings are wonderful, complicated, and complex creatures. We live in multifaceted societies, and have made great advancements for ourselves and the quality of our lives. However, for all our advancements, we are still painfully and fatally insecure and power-hungry. War, genocide, political corruption, and negligence are just a few of the ways we show ourselves that we are still adolescent and maturing and not fully developed as a world yet.

I believe that these things will always be a part of the nature of our species. But we make strides forward with them, and will continue to do so, slowly but surely.

Yet if we did discover life somewhere else, I am afraid that in our teenage stage as a planet we would do more harm than good to said life, and waste an opportunitity to expand beyond our atmosphere in peace. It isn't our fault, necessarily. Until we can live more harmoniously here on Earth, what do we think engaging life elsewhere will accomplish?

So life on Mars, if you are out there, please thrive, grow, develop, and avoid our Martian robots as much as possible. But please leave us a few teasing clues, a few hints to your existence, so when we have reached a more stable place in our lives, we can venture forth once more to meet you with all the hope and promise that not being alone in the universe affords.