> We cannot ask a question "are we alone" unless we know exactly what a whale sings about (if anything) or what crazy complicated dolphin or beluga chatter means.

I don't follow. You could say the same thing about any Earth-bound phenomena. There is an endless supply of interesting things to study on our planet. There's also an endless supply of space exploration waiting for us. To pick one to the exclusion of the other seems very shortsighted, given that we don't know what we'll find in either place.

Seems like pursuing all avenues of exploration is the best way to move us forward.