Are Intelligent Civilizations Doomed?

The universe is a big place but it's a hostile environment too. I suspect that even with a lot of planets out there those that will meet the requirements of the Drake Equation are probably rare. Then there's the fact that signal diminishes with the square of the distance and there are really big distances between us and even the nearest stars. Then there's the fact that we don't seem to be smart enough or have the political will to address issues that could potentially wipe us out. Past civilizations on Earth have done exactly that. If we are typical of intelligent life then that by itself will reduce a certain percentage of species that might be capable of star flight.

I am a serious believer that the future of our specie lies far beyond our home planet. The limit to our civilization, and to any other intelligent civilization for that matter, lies within intelligence in itself. There is a limit to intelligence and when we reach it, we will start to decline and eventually disappear. Intelligence in itself is our own nemesis... our own great filter...

Perhaps all of humanity with its attendant civilization (and any other alien civilization) can be considered to be a single, mortal life form that grows, ages, and dies within a certain life expectancy and therefore will simply die of old age due to the destructive aging processes like we see in human individuals. What the mechanisms of this destructive aging process are would then be the right question.

I like Rathkennamike idea. Either that or warp drives are much harder to build then we think.

I know if I were the decision maker in an advanced civilisation who came on the viral disease we would appear to be to anyone looking at the Earth. I would quarantine it immediately until it either killed itself off or evolved sufficiently to try to save it's self and it's planet. We kill each other in fights over whose imaginary friend is best, allow vast numbers to starve, hoard our wealth instead of using it for useful purpose (and I don't mean making more wealth), we pollute our environment with abandon in the name of 'progress' or just so we can 'enjoy ourselves'. Our people and our 'leaders' are only concerned with self gratification or maintaining power (to what end?). Sure there are some who can see beyond the horizon but they are a tiny minority and generally done down if they suggest we need to change. Lets face it, if we did get off this planet we would just go on to destroy the whole universe.