In toying with some of my writings, i've made some observations, with heavy conjecture that i'm now a fan of relating the Earth/Romulan War.
I have always been a bit... irritated? Maybe is the word by the Federation's logo, only made worse by ENT really leaning into the United Earth logo. It feels like the Federation's emblem is like, the galaxy existing inside of the Earth emblem.
Which kind of got me to thinking... it makes a weird amount of sense, with some backstory. The Federation and Starfleet does always seem to be largely human dominated. Starfleet started as specifically an Earth fleet. Earth is the capital. The entire thing is so Earth centric.
Is that by design? Maybe it is?
So what if the "Earth/Romulan War" is a bit of a misnomer/revisionist history for nomenclature. Here's my possible scenario. The war was not actually a war between Earth and the Romulans. It was a war between the Romulans and pretty much everyone in the region. Earth actually got actively involved a bit later. Vulcan, Andor and Tellar were fighting the heaviest battles and their worlds were getting ravaged by the Romulans. Earth helped where it could, but had limited resources at the onset of the war. With the other races fleets in tatters and Earth in a more vulnerable position, United Earth into a full wartime production footing and began to quickly churn out starships.
In what feels on brand for Star Trek, it's directly analogous to America in WW2. After being beat up, Space Europe was the brink of defeat. The industrial might of Space America awoke, and Space America used it's massive industrial might to push back and defeat Space Germany, ultimately winning Space WW2 for the Alli...Coalition.
From the ashes of the war, which ended getting named somewhat through human hubris the "Earth/Romulan War", the galaxy needed to rebuild itself. Vulcan, Andor, and Tellar were in rough shape with limited resources. Earth, in a massive shift from just a decade prior, was now the preeminent power in the region.
The Federation was Earth's plan for the rebuilding of their three aliies. They formally joined with much closer ties, and with Earth being force with the resources to help rebuild, they all essentially joined "under" Earth. The Federation's emblem, with it's three points of light surrounded by the United Earth logo is quite literally symbolizing Vulcan, Andor and Tellar uniting under Earth's banner for the betterment of all.
It wasn't in a malevolent way, it was more just... by default. After the war, the other worlds needed Earth more than Earth needed them, and setting up the Federation streamlined the rebuilding efforts. But humans are still humans, so we made sure to put our stamp on it for all time.
It's why even in later Trek, "Earth" is often synonymous with "The Federation", because it is .They're, for all intents and purposes, one and the same.
I have always been a bit... irritated? Maybe is the word by the Federation's logo, only made worse by ENT really leaning into the United Earth logo. It feels like the Federation's emblem is like, the galaxy existing inside of the Earth emblem.
Which kind of got me to thinking... it makes a weird amount of sense, with some backstory. The Federation and Starfleet does always seem to be largely human dominated. Starfleet started as specifically an Earth fleet. Earth is the capital. The entire thing is so Earth centric.
Is that by design? Maybe it is?
So what if the "Earth/Romulan War" is a bit of a misnomer/revisionist history for nomenclature. Here's my possible scenario. The war was not actually a war between Earth and the Romulans. It was a war between the Romulans and pretty much everyone in the region. Earth actually got actively involved a bit later. Vulcan, Andor and Tellar were fighting the heaviest battles and their worlds were getting ravaged by the Romulans. Earth helped where it could, but had limited resources at the onset of the war. With the other races fleets in tatters and Earth in a more vulnerable position, United Earth into a full wartime production footing and began to quickly churn out starships.
In what feels on brand for Star Trek, it's directly analogous to America in WW2. After being beat up, Space Europe was the brink of defeat. The industrial might of Space America awoke, and Space America used it's massive industrial might to push back and defeat Space Germany, ultimately winning Space WW2 for the Alli...Coalition.
From the ashes of the war, which ended getting named somewhat through human hubris the "Earth/Romulan War", the galaxy needed to rebuild itself. Vulcan, Andor, and Tellar were in rough shape with limited resources. Earth, in a massive shift from just a decade prior, was now the preeminent power in the region.
The Federation was Earth's plan for the rebuilding of their three aliies. They formally joined with much closer ties, and with Earth being force with the resources to help rebuild, they all essentially joined "under" Earth. The Federation's emblem, with it's three points of light surrounded by the United Earth logo is quite literally symbolizing Vulcan, Andor and Tellar uniting under Earth's banner for the betterment of all.
It wasn't in a malevolent way, it was more just... by default. After the war, the other worlds needed Earth more than Earth needed them, and setting up the Federation streamlined the rebuilding efforts. But humans are still humans, so we made sure to put our stamp on it for all time.
It's why even in later Trek, "Earth" is often synonymous with "The Federation", because it is .They're, for all intents and purposes, one and the same.