Put simply, I'm going to list some of the most controversial decisions/actions/incidents on DS9 and you check whether you agree, or disagree. There is also an Undecided/Other option for those of you who either are undecided, have a different opinion, or don't remember the incident in question. Have fun! BTW, many spoilers ahead about episodes from multiple seasons. If there's even one aspect of DS9 you haven't seen and you don't want the experience ruined, don't participate!
Wow... this is the Mother of all DS9 Polls! I was undecided for almost all of those questions. Ds9 is the master of gray areas!
Thanks for this poll. I do love seeing the moral questions posed throughout the series and to think- this isn't even all of them. Just off the top of the barrel, really. I made pretty firm decisions after seeing the episodes so I tried not to put Undecided on any of them... My answers come from the school of thought that, "I would do the same in their shoes" or not. Fun dilemmas.
I agree, this is a great poll. I was leaning back and forth with the questions. It really all depends on the certian situation and how I interpreted it. For example, I approved of sisko's actions in ITPM, but didn't agree with his actions in FTU. DS9 was indeed a master of the shades of gray.
Those ARE tough. I usually pride myself on successfully addressing the tough, thorny issues, but this one made me pause. I could only give emphatic answers to S31 and Jadzia, both of which were 'No'. To be honest, I'd never given much thought at ALL to the moral issues in ITPM, being more entertained by the 'Usual Suspects'-esque ending. Did Sisko have the moral right to trick the Romulans into a war that killed millions of them, or did he save them from eventual genocide? Cripes, that's a toughie. BBH.
I think that situation from Change of Heart, also should be in the poll. Afterall, Starfleet could gain invaluable intel. otherwise, great polls.
Wow! What a superb poll! Some tough questions. The only one I was really really sure of was the last one - DS9 is definately the master of grey areas!
Whoa.... um.... just a few that stuck out in my mind: Section 31 - Nothing justifies genocide. But the great irony is that it helped end the war. Future Odo - This was the only one that I picked undecided on. Maquis - I agree with most of their actions. *runs out of room* Don't hate me! Valiant - Idiots. I mean..... idiots. War - It was going to happen sooner or later. It was inevitable in my view. Overall - DS9 is the master of grey areas. Great poll! [edit] Wow. The Maquis one is evenly split. I would have thought that most people would have been against them.
Thanks everyone for your participation, really...it took two hours going through the DS9 companion to look for these things, and I still missed some, so I'm glad people are enjoying it. If you see any I missed, let me know, because I'd like to do another "Morality Survey" in the future. Already on my "to ask" list are questions on Odo's betrayal of Kira's resistance movement against the Dominion("Behind the Lines", correct?) the Starfleet takeover of Earth in Homefront/Paradise Lost, Kai Opaka's involvement in the Kendra Valley Massacre, Garak destroying a Romulan vessel upon their discovering of Sisko's treachery(one of my favorite controversial moments in the series), the Trill Reassociation Taboo, Worf's "Change of Heart", Dukat's destuction of the Cardassian transport full of unarmed Klingon officers at the end of "Return To Grace", The Magnificent Ferengi's morbid(albiet creative) use of a Vorta corpse...like someone else mentioned, I was just scratching the surface, but it would have been an interminable survey if I included all of them. There were some I deliberately left out, like the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, Damar killing Ziyal, Dukat killing Jadzia and many of his crazy actions during S7...just too easy to answer. But like I said, if you see some I missed, let me know.
Terrific poll question and some very tough Q's to answer in the end it was desperate times call for desperate measures.
Great job: If only all polls could be this thought provoking. I tried to stay away from answering "undecided", but for one question I truely was undecided.
This definately is a great poll. I had quite a hard time deciding on a lot of questions. In the end I think I was undecided on two of three questions.
Well, I finally voted! Some very tough questions there. And IMO, it is a credit to DS9 that some of those poll questions are *very* close in the voting! Good job with this poll, DS9Fan2!
Sure! Not every issue is easy to answer,(the writers made sure of it, which is a good thing) and it's either easier or harder to answer depending on the specific values of each person. You were just answering truthfully like everyone else, and I appreciate that!
Interesting poll! My general attitude towards morality on DS9 is complicated by two factors: it's a show about the military and about a society that freed itself through terrorism, so my true preference for pacifism and pacifist resistance techniques simply aren't an option; I make a distinction between fictional and real morality. I'm a moral relativist, to a point, and that point is much further along in fiction than in reality because nobody really gets hurt in fiction. One of the things I like about DS9 is that it helps me test and examine my ethics and morals in a way that's both challenging and safe.