would depend GREATLY on the circumstances.
Am I investigating a strange noise near my house in the middle of the night, gradually understanding that an alien craft has actually crashed there, and I encounter a wounded being that is clearly not of this world? ...
would depend GREATLY on the circumstances.
Am I investigating a strange noise near my house in the middle of the night, gradually understanding that an alien craft has actually crashed there, and I encounter a wounded being that is clearly not of this world?
Frankly, the situation would be so surreal that it would be hard to react rationally. Unless it seemed quite obvious that I could somehow offer meaningful assistance, I should probably just secure evidence (lots of pictures), upload them so that that nobody could ever put a lid on this, then call the authorities.
In this situation (an accidental crash), the aliens would probably not want to be revealed to the human race, and even if I could somehow help the wounded creature, it is entirely possible that I would be either abducted or summarily killed by the aliens afterwards. Don't trust them to be nice, super-ethical entities. They may well regard humans as little more than samples of the local wildlife.
A very different situation: An alien fleet goes into orbit around earth, the aliens making contact via radio. They apparently want to enter into some kind of dialogue with the human race. Again, circumstances may differ. Do we have the impression that they have studied us for years and maybe even mastered some Earth languages, with greater or lesser proficiency?
If so, communication would of course be enormously easier, but I were among the chosen ones that would try to speak for earth, I would be keenly aware of cultural misunderstandings that might arise. Just imagine how often people from different cultures, or even men and women, talk past one another and can't really understand the perspective of the other. Then imagine the misunderstandings that might arise when we try to communicate with beings that are really different.
Talking with the aliens via radio, I would make an effort to use simple language and the most crystal-clear wordings I could think of, avoiding all complex metaphors that may not mean the same (or anything) to them. Our most pressing concern would obviously be to figure out their intentions. I would "welcome" them to earth (yet somehow also politely indicate that this is not an invitation for them to move in). I would say that this is a very great moment in the history of our species, and that many have wondered if we are alone in the universe. Now we know that we are not.
And then, somehow, I would politely enquire about their purpose in coming here.
I would not, initially, begin to drop suggestions that they ought to share all their technology with us. That could be quite inappropriate from their point of view, and suggest to them that we are more interested in their "stuff" than in them. We cannot know how "possessive" they are about their technological knowledge. The simple fact that they made it across interstellar space to earth tells us that they are far ahead of us.
If there is a conflict, there is a perfectly real chance that we won't come out on top. So we very much want to avoid a conflict. They would know this is what we are thinking, even though neither party has to say it. If they actually start pointing out their technological and military superiority, I would seriously consider suicide while I still have the option. Again, there is NO guarantee that their values do in any way conform with human values, or that they intend to play nice.
We would have to very carefully analyze what information about themselves they see fit to share, and repay them in kind. If they wanted to land and meet us in person, I would politely cite concerns about contamination (earthly microbes could be dangerous to them, and any microbes they bring along could be lethal to us). Then again, perhaps they evolved out of their biology long ago and now exist in immortal robot bodies, infinitely more flexible (and to human eyes likely bizarre) than anything biological. We would have to mentally prepare for anything, once we were going to actually meet them............... Face to Face