Eddington's vitriolic assessment of The Federation

[Ragitsu]

I'm very curious as to how much of the Maquis Eddington really spoke for. I would have loved to see some dissent between him and Cal Hudson.

"For Pete's sake, Eddington: a prolonged speech about the benefits of primitive agriculture isn't the best approach."

 

[Oddish]

Chakotay might also have an interesting perspective.

 

[DonIago]

I'd like think Hudson or Chakotay never would have approved of the attack on the Malinche.

 

[JediKnightButler]

I think there was more than a hint of truth to Eddington's belief that the Federation is an expansionist hegemon who actively seeks to absorb other cultures into its culture, and that the Federation's national ego is offended by the idea of people who were part of the Federation wanting to become independent.

In the TNG episode “First Contact”, Picard uses eerily similar to Borg terminology when Picard described to Mirasta how they bring other worlds into the Federation.

 

[Oddish]

In the TNG episode “First Contact”, Picard uses eerily similar to Borg terminology when Picard described to Mirasta how they bring other worlds into the Federation.

Except they weren't bringing her world into the Federation. First Contact is initiated by the Federation. It's making a warp-imminent civilization aware that they're not alone in the universe, so that when they head out into space, they're not surprised by what (and who) they find.

Federation membership is typically initiated by the world that wants to join up.

 

[kkt]

Except they weren't bringing her world into the Federation. First Contact is initiated by the Federation. It's making a warp-imminent civilization aware that they're not alone in the universe, so that when they head out into space, they're not surprised by what (and who) they find.

Federation membership is typically initiated by the world that wants to join up.

Typically, yes, but Picard ordered Sisko to do everything within the law to push Bajor towards Federation membership. (For all the good it did.)

 

[Oddish]

Typically, yes, but Picard ordered Sisko to do everything within the law to push Bajor towards Federation membership. (For all the good it did.)

Pretty sure Bajor petitioned for membership. Picard was simply ordering Sisko to aid them in getting to where they needed to be to qualify. With the planet in a shambles, the provisional government newly formed, and the militia made up of former terrorists... yeah. A tall order.

 

[XCV330]

Bajor was just a fruit to be picked by any nearby power, and Federation was offering Bajor the better option. When the wormhole opened it just became that more imperative. Since the Fed had had its own war with the Cardassians, it wasn't exactly altruistic of them to be involved, but that didn't make their attempt to save Bajor from a second, more successful genocide an immoral action.

Bajor had had spaceflight and some form of interstellar flight or at least the knowledge how for thousands of years. For whatever reason they'd never bought in to the tech the way their neighbors had. It wasn't because they were less mentally capable, nor does Bajor appear to have heavy gravity (pretty sure every species home world in Trek has a magic 1G) so they could have made it. It reminds me a bit of the Andaman islanders, especially North Sentinel Island: aware of the outside world but wanting no part of it.

But Bajor didn't have anyone protecting them apart from the Federation, and after a successful rebellion and resumption of sovereignty (probably helped by Cardassia's entanglements with other local powers) they errantly clung to an ideal of their own exceptionalism.

 

[Uxi]

The best counter to the Maquis rhetoric is that the Federation could always wash its hands of the DMZ and forbid Starfleet from interfering and if the Maquis provoked the Cardassians to wiping them out, the Federation Council might reverse the policy, though it could be too late. The real alternative is a war and remembering from the incident with the Phoenix, the admiral told Picard that Starfleet was still stretched too thin after Wolf 359 and they had to avoid full scale conflict at any cost. Even if Starfleet wanted to, they were in no position and the Cardassians were never more than a regional threat, so it's not like the defense posture at the Romulan border could be drawn from.

Individual Starfleet officers like Hudson would still join up but they'd be outmatched by the full deployment of a Cardassian Order against them.

 

[Ragitsu]

The best counter to the Maquis rhetoric is that the Federation could always wash its hands of the DMZ and forbid Starfleet from interfering and if the Maquis provoked the Cardassians to wiping them out, the Federation Council might reverse the policy, though it could be too late. The real alternative is a war and remembering from the incident with the Phoenix, the admiral told Picard that Starfleet was still stretched too thin after Wolf 359 and they had to avoid full scale conflict at any cost. Even if Starfleet wanted to, they were in no position and the Cardassians were never more than a regional threat, so it's not like the defense posture at the Romulan border could be drawn from.

I have gotten the sense that, back then (i.e., "the war"), The Federation could have obliterated the Cardassians if they had so desired; that was not what they desired. Thankfully, the former preferred peace with the latter.