Comment Re:SETI - low hanging fruit idea - active broadcas (Score 1) 85
No active broadcasts. It signals our technological level by the technology used.
Why assume the aliens are hostile? - Well, if we are not alone, there's bound to be much more than 1-2 other civilizations out there. This means that other civilizations may have tried contacting each other and it takes just one bad experience to become paranoid and protective.
Take the situation in "Independence Day". Once you've survived an attempted invasion you'll never trust aliens again.
This means that the odds of reaching a civilization that is both naive and with no bad experiences are low, real low. We'll most likely reach someone that either don't want anything to do with us or someone who'll use a preemptive strike to make sure we don't hurt them.
Are we as a planet ready to fight an interstellar war? - I don't think so.