To our alien would-be conquerors:

When I was younger I used to garden with my mother. We planted carrots, and zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes. I watched over it, watering it faithfully, until one day those plants provided us with food. It was hard work – we had to fend off moles and groundhogs, bugs and blight. Every creature around seemed intent on ruining my harvest, but even though I lost a few carrots along the way, and a few tomatoes were eaten by animals, I had a pretty nice crop when it was all said and done.

Independence is a lot like my garden. It needs careful tending, and yea - it gets screwed up every once in a while, but whether it succeeds or fails is ultimately our responsibility. We take pride in that – in our ability to have the freedom to choose what is right and wrong, to as a society act upon our own moral compass and code. We are better for it. We are proud because of it, and we will fight to defend it.

You may think us a world divided, people who quarrel over the simplest of matters, whether they are moral, economic, or environmental. You aren’t entirely wrong, but we are unified in one belief – the belief that we will be governed by no one but ourselves, and we will fight you until every last one of us has been extinguished to protect our independence.

You know nothing about our planet or its inhabitants. We know war. We know what it’s like to lose everything. To feel gun smoke and sulfur burn our eyes. Do you? Partner with us, rather than wasting your time fighting senselessly. We will never give up – you’ve already witnessed that for yourself. Even though your technology may be more advanced, you need us – you cannot survive this planet without our blood to feed you, so you can’t wipe us out, and you can’t drug us up. Let Earth be independent of your rule – it is the only way to ensure our cooperation. Otherwise, you face years of resistance, losing both your soldiers and your ability to enjoy traveling across our world.

I trust that you’ll make the smart decision. For your people, and for your future on our planet.