On several occasions, Dr Bashir did everything within his power to help people and do no harm. But sometimes he imperiled his comrades, and trod dangerously close to moral abuses and even treason.
What are some opinions of folks here about Bashir's strict black-and-white moral code? When we first meet Bashir he exhibited an idealistic, naive, self-centered hero complex. Over the years, frontier life seasoned him - but did it ever change his essential nature as a self-serving, moralistic idealist--and loose cannon?
Examples:
When he and Miles were stuck on a planet with Jem'Hadar, he was bound and determined to find a cure for White addiction; even though finding the cure would certainly result in his lack of further usefulness to the Jem'Hadar - not an enviable position to be in. When they had a window to escape, he refused to take it, compelling Miles to destroy his work for his own good. His search for a cure, while possibly a useful tool in the war against the Dominion, would most likely never reach Starfleet, nor be any benefit to the Alpha Quadrant; but likely result in split Jem'Hadar factions causing even more chaos. And most likely getting he and Miles executed immediately following.
On another occasion, Bashir and Miles sought to bait Section 31 to the station on the assumption that, if 31 created the Founder's disease, they must have had a cure as well - an assumption that does not necessarily follow. Julian was bound by his rigid moral code as a humane doctor to create a cure that could heal the entire Dominion and potentially turn the tide of war and power in the AQ to the enemy's favor.
Regardless of the moral implications of Section 31's act of genocidal biological warfare, Bashir stubbornly and blindly let his behavior be guided by a simplistic healer's morality. In this way he provides a model of heroic morality; yet he didn't really wrestle with the more far-reaching consequences of his actions. Had he cured the Founders prematurely, those very moral actions might have easily resulted in the death of billions of AQ beings and the destruction of countless civilizations in the years to come. At the point of his attempt to devise a cure, the Dominion had no intention of relenting its mission to control - or destroy - all life in the AQ. However Bashir rested comfortably behind a simple, clear moral loyalty of friendship to Odo - a man whose actions were not always in the best interest of the Alpha Quadrant either. Yes, he was trying to help his friend. No, this did not release him from the very real promise of genocide he might have ushered into the Alpha Quadrant.
There were other instances as well. His very nature as a genetically-enhanced human could cast doubt on his loyalties, as well as his actions championing the other modified-people. Together with Bashir, these people subsequently calculated that surrender to the (genetically gleeful) Dominion was the only viable conclusion to the war - and proceeded to take matters into their own hands.
So, Bashir: Traitor? Hero? Harbinger? Or Fool?
What are some opinions of folks here about Bashir's strict black-and-white moral code? When we first meet Bashir he exhibited an idealistic, naive, self-centered hero complex. Over the years, frontier life seasoned him - but did it ever change his essential nature as a self-serving, moralistic idealist--and loose cannon?
Examples:
When he and Miles were stuck on a planet with Jem'Hadar, he was bound and determined to find a cure for White addiction; even though finding the cure would certainly result in his lack of further usefulness to the Jem'Hadar - not an enviable position to be in. When they had a window to escape, he refused to take it, compelling Miles to destroy his work for his own good. His search for a cure, while possibly a useful tool in the war against the Dominion, would most likely never reach Starfleet, nor be any benefit to the Alpha Quadrant; but likely result in split Jem'Hadar factions causing even more chaos. And most likely getting he and Miles executed immediately following.
On another occasion, Bashir and Miles sought to bait Section 31 to the station on the assumption that, if 31 created the Founder's disease, they must have had a cure as well - an assumption that does not necessarily follow. Julian was bound by his rigid moral code as a humane doctor to create a cure that could heal the entire Dominion and potentially turn the tide of war and power in the AQ to the enemy's favor.
Regardless of the moral implications of Section 31's act of genocidal biological warfare, Bashir stubbornly and blindly let his behavior be guided by a simplistic healer's morality. In this way he provides a model of heroic morality; yet he didn't really wrestle with the more far-reaching consequences of his actions. Had he cured the Founders prematurely, those very moral actions might have easily resulted in the death of billions of AQ beings and the destruction of countless civilizations in the years to come. At the point of his attempt to devise a cure, the Dominion had no intention of relenting its mission to control - or destroy - all life in the AQ. However Bashir rested comfortably behind a simple, clear moral loyalty of friendship to Odo - a man whose actions were not always in the best interest of the Alpha Quadrant either. Yes, he was trying to help his friend. No, this did not release him from the very real promise of genocide he might have ushered into the Alpha Quadrant.
There were other instances as well. His very nature as a genetically-enhanced human could cast doubt on his loyalties, as well as his actions championing the other modified-people. Together with Bashir, these people subsequently calculated that surrender to the (genetically gleeful) Dominion was the only viable conclusion to the war - and proceeded to take matters into their own hands.
So, Bashir: Traitor? Hero? Harbinger? Or Fool?
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