Are there any such stories that are well done and original enough for you to remember?

It seems fairly obvious that, most of the time, aliens in science fiction -- particularly in film and television -- are metaphors for "foreigners". The inherent communication barriers, xenophobic human fear (that is usually justified by "evil" aliens who want to take over the world), etc., are all symbolic of how people often react to unfamiliar languages, customs and cultures.

Have you found stories that expand on the scientific fact that there are no human "races", extrapolating that all intelligent carbon-based life forms are also fundamentally part of an intergalactic family?

It's sort of a "get over your home world, already. We have more important things to do" type of idea.

Star Trek would be an example, but only sometimes. Given that the original series was designed as a way to tackle 1960s American social issues, it's a step behind -- maybe a "prequel", conceptually.

This seems like a great place to start exploring characters and interactions for new spacefaring science fiction, so if there are any existing works that come to mind, it would be great to hear of them.