Well I’m a Star Trek fan, and I’m optimistic that maybe the community between the stars is less narrow minded than the people on Earth today

Maybe climate change is the reason why. It’s a great filter that requires long term thinking and global cooperation to overcome. Maybe all the species similar to modern humanity end up polluting themselves back to the stone age and have to try again.

there is a zero chance we’ve made contact with non Earth life

Yeah! Because heavier than air flight is impossible, and there’s no way aliens could hold enough helium to fly to another planet!

(Our ideas about what is possible change as our technology advances)