Quark's root beer analogy of the Federation
- Thread starter Ragitsu
- Start date
.
Bajor applied to join the Federation, before anyone knew there was a wormhole.
Funny thing is that until his unexpected change in side, he was practically a koolaid vendor. A front? Or did something happen to him?
Regarding the Federation, it's an interstellar polity that provides optional membership, rule of law, and mutual defense. With sharks like the Borg, Dominion, Cardassians, Romulans, and Klingons out there, that root beer suddenly looks pretty tasty.
Yes and the Federation wants it as a place where they can watch the Cardassians.
And that is indeed where Quark and Garak end their conversation: "Do you think they'll save us?" "I hope so."
But that doesn't negate their complaints about the Federation, either. Recognizing that the UFP is a better option than the overtly imperialist powers doesn't make its cultural imperialism, its self-aggrandizement, or its hypocrisies any less objectionable.
Sure.
That doesn't negate Garak's and Quark's criticisms of the Federation. They are not wrong.
Just like, for that matter, Federation criticisms of Ferengi culture and Cardassian culture are not wrong!
That's one of the things I love about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in particular: It's a show willing to depict all of these cultures as having good and bad points and valid grievances with one-another, even when it depicts some cultures as being more in the right than others.
Complaint #1 -- "bubbly and cloying and happy" -- is not a complaint that the UFP is bland or weak. It is, I would infer, an objection to the Federation's self-aggrandizement and to its belief in equality (a belief that Quark and Garak, as committed believers in Ferengi and Cardassian values, reject). So it's a combination of a valid complaint and a complaint that reflects their own cultural blind spots.
Complaint #2 -- "It's insidious" -- is a complaint that the Federation seeks to export its values to other cultures. This is an objective fact. The only question is whether or not you think that's a good thing.
Apologies. I should have specified that both are complaints promulgated by real-world people. They seem split on whether The Federation is insipid not to mention "too moral" (i.e., they won't play dirty to win) or manipulative in the extreme (I refer you to "Sinister Starfleet"/"Fiendish Federation").
And what real-life land is that? Because if you're talking about the United States, well, I just don't see how a settler-colonial state founded on the basis of white supremacy, slavery, indigenous genocide, classism, bigotry against queer people, and patriarchy -- one in which a form of legalized slavery still endures, in which police forces are de facto allowed to murder people for being black with impunity, in which the deportation bureaucracy operates what can only reasonably be called concentration camps in a campaign of what can only reasonably be called low-level ethnic cleansing, in which women's right to control their own bodies is being stolen, in which millions of people are impoverished, in which God knows how many people are food-insecure or homeless, in which hate crimes are a regular part of life that's only getting worse, in which religious discrimination is rampant... well, it's not a very good place to live if you aren't some combination of white, male, straight, cis, Christian, and wealthy. I would certainly hope that's not true of the Federation.
If you mean the United States of America, then...I disagree. At best, the USA is a ballroom dress on a corpse: pretty at a distance, but it stinks to high heaven the closer you get.
I may be more skeptical about the virtue of the Federation than you, but I'd say you and I are in agreement on some real-world stuff.
Because ICE's goal is to ethnically cleanse as many Latinos as possible. (Funny how they never target illegal Irish immigrants!)
Log raft with termites versus inflatable raft with multiple punctures. By the way, you ought to get your nation to stop its absurd "War on Drugs" not only domestically but in abutting southern nations as well.
No, but their actual goal is equally dishonorable.
I live in a very drug-friendly part of the country, and I have to disagree.
If you wish to further discuss politics, point me to a suitable neutral off-site discussion forum. This topic concerns the United Federation of Planets, and a carbonated beverage that pairs well with vanilla ice cream.
I didn’t read that speech as any kind of scathing criticism. Describing the Federation as soft and saccharine, but also comfy and safe, and ultimately addictive.
Planets that join the Federation are welcomed as equals and partners, they gain safety and strength, but they are giving up part of their cultural uniqueness in the bargain. Quark and Garak are keenly aware of both ends of that bargain.
Planets that join the Federation are welcomed as equals and partners, they gain safety and strength, but they are giving up part of their cultural uniqueness in the bargain. Quark and Garak are keenly aware of both ends of that bargain.
Similar threads
