I don't think we can nominate a single ambassador, it almost has to be an entire delegation. Despite all the evidence of the worst, humanity has exemplary potential, but it's not one-size-fits-all. John Cena shows the positive power of dignity and compassion, but is that all that defines us? Humility and intellect go hand in hand too, who's the best representative of that? In the case of nominees who aren't alive, how do we present them? How do we highlight, say, the warmth and wisdom of Robin Williams?

There's a problem though. If we sat down and looked at what the most universally-recognized virtues are, and found the ideal representation of each in a living person, they'd have a frankly terrifying degree of societal influence. And the risk of the exemplar of Machiavellian ambition exploiting that influence to horrific ends is... troubling.

Maybe you're right, we just send one person. Or maybe the aliens don't make contact because of the delegation scenario. Or because they think we'll react the way we historically have at every turn: with violence.