"You can't know or understand possible ET motivations or capabilities."
True, but my argument is that their intentions fundamentally don't matter. The real costs of acting on ill-intentions through interstellar space would probably give any real life Klingons or Romulans pause.
Meanwhile we fly, sometimes even into space, drive, walk outside, stay inside, eat/drink things that we shouldn't (but enjoy), and a thousand other risks which are substantially more real on an everyday basis... and many of those risks also come with rewards that can make life much more full and rich.
I think making contact with aliens would most likely just 1) confirm we weren't alone or 2) might actually be of benefit as we exchange knowledge and ideas, and/or 3) tell us that evolution tends to creates fearful, xenophobic entities where it also develops intelligence... in that order and with no further consequence than the knowledge.