Maybe they are gambling only Democrat voters will kick the bucket
Is episode "Past Tense" an omen of a Donald Trump presidency?
- Thread starter marsh8472
- Start date
Hmmm...that is a really serious assertion.
The GOP told me.
I am sure they used those very same words.
Going back to the original point of this thread...
1.) Every side that loses the White House predicts the world ending. It never happens.
2.) Star Trek while thought provoking is still nothing more than entertainment. We don't have magical technology that can feed and clothe every human being on the planet so we are unable to look our nose down on "primitives" who have to struggle with such things as scarce jobs and resources.
According to the show all problems on Earth were cured by the arrival of Vulcans. A very nice sentiment but I doubt groups like ISIS would stop trying to kill infidels with the arrival of aliens. I doubt having more working age people than actual employment opportunities would disappear overnight either.
That's just a stupid thing to say.
First of all, it's just flat-out false, even as hyperbole. People who voted against Donald Trump are not, as a side, predicting the end of the world. What people are doing, however, is expressing their rational concern that the danger has increased by his election.
Since the Cold War, American Presidents have each held the power to destroy all human life. This President in particular has expressed both an interest in using nuclear weapons and in being unpredictable. Concern that the danger has increased is entirely rational. Being wholly unconcerned is in fact the irrational position. The opposite of being wholly unconcerned is not predicting Armageddon. The rational opposite falls well short of that.
In addition, human life can be altogether eradicated only once. Saying, "it never happens," even in a mode of sarcasm, is pure nonsense, unless you actually intend to undermine your own position. What you mean is, "it hasn't happened yet." And of course it hasn't happened, because if all human life had been destroyed, then we couldn't be having this conversation.
I hope you appreciate that an implication of your position is that the supposed dangers of having Obama as President were vastly exaggerated. But then, we all knew that they were exaggerated. Didn't we? It's just that their exaggeration doesn't mean that the dangers under Trump are being exaggerated. Habitual liars tend to assume that everybody is a habitual liar.
Finally, if we make it through Trump's reign, and I hope we do, then that won't prove that there was no danger. Unfortunately, Trump's stated interest in being unpredictable makes it hard to figure out exactly how confident one should be that WWIII won't break out under his presidency.
Well hey it's only humanity, if yo wipe it out the next day they will wake up bright eyed and fresh /s
Considering when Star Trek was created the Israelis and Palestinians were not exactly singing peace and love with each other. However GR created a show based on the premise, in some unforeseeable future humanity gets past their present day issues. Canon suggests the horrors of a WW3 and the knowledge that there are aliens out there knocks some sense into late 21st century humanity to get its shit together. The details of how this takes place is left to the audience imagination. As for Mr Trump and his ilk, having an outspoken right wing, almost neo facists folks influencing the seat of power in the USA of all places is not something most people expected to witness in their life time, but then I suppose looking at the Star Trek historical universe Colonel Green and John Frederick Paxton had to come from somewhere. 'America First' and 'Terra Prime', those attitudes are kissing cousins.
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And you don't think "Terra Prime" won't happen if real aliens show up. That will be the very first thing that happens, or one of them. We'll drop conventional racism and do that instead.
Human nature is at best screwed up some of the time.
Human nature is at best screwed up some of the time.
That's why a president a bit more friendly to Russia is more comforting than, say, A John McCain presidency.
He would try to start something with Putin.
That's total horse shit.
Think so?
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-we-must-oppose-the-kremlin-baiting-against-trump/
And that's no right-wing rag either.
Had he won instead of Obama--what do you think the death toll of young men lost in Iraq would be now?
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-we-must-oppose-the-kremlin-baiting-against-trump/
And that's no right-wing rag either.
Had he won instead of Obama--what do you think the death toll of young men lost in Iraq would be now?
What does that have to do with "start[ing] something with Putin?" You know, the thing you were talking about, in contrast to cozying up to Russia.
Edit - Oh, I see you edited your post to put in a link that also has .... nothing to do with what you were talking about, viz. that having Trump in the White House will lead to a safer relationship with Russia than having McCain there would have because McCain would have started something.
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If anything that example proves my point. Human nature will never cease being human nature. Enterprise and DS9 really drove those points home. We saw Archer and other members with a prejudice towards Vulcans as well as Sisko and other members prejudice toward Ferengi. To think that those basic aspects of humanity will change or to think that sanctuary districts will actually happen due to an election is ludicrous.
Right now, our ships get buzzed because we are all up in the face of Russia. Everyone knows McCain is an interventionist. I think we need a bit less of that.
Even FDR sat down with Stalin at Yalta.
America has this idea that we wear a white hat--and we do throw our weight around. Assad is the devil you know. I think Trump understands at least one thing well--as bad as monsters are--the vacuum they leave behind when removed is worse.
As sad as it is to say--using the Dnepr river valley between an East Ukraine and a West Ukraine is about as much as anyone can hope for. I just don't see McCain ratcheting down any tension. I see him adding to it. Just an opinion.
Had we stayed out of WWI, I dare say that Hitler dies a failed drunken artist in a back alley of Berlin--and Auschwitz a sleepy town only to be found in the index of Fodor's
Even FDR sat down with Stalin at Yalta.
America has this idea that we wear a white hat--and we do throw our weight around. Assad is the devil you know. I think Trump understands at least one thing well--as bad as monsters are--the vacuum they leave behind when removed is worse.
As sad as it is to say--using the Dnepr river valley between an East Ukraine and a West Ukraine is about as much as anyone can hope for. I just don't see McCain ratcheting down any tension. I see him adding to it. Just an opinion.
Had we stayed out of WWI, I dare say that Hitler dies a failed drunken artist in a back alley of Berlin--and Auschwitz a sleepy town only to be found in the index of Fodor's
Drivel.
There are both false equivalences and false dilemmas aplenty.
Sorry, but I have no interest giving a point-by-point detailed breakdown of all the fallacies there, because there are just too many for it to be a good use of my time, except, however, that I will point out the whopper, which is, of course, bringing WWI into the mix to assert that what might have become of Hitler in some alternate reality has any real bearing on how to deal with Putin.
Putin is a small player of course. The Russians may feel him to be their Reagan. The fall of the Soviet Union and the war in Afghanistan was their Vietnam.
I didn't vote for Trump mind you--I just think the arguments here make sense to me:
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-we-must-oppose-the-kremlin-baiting-against-trump/
John Oliver's spin on how Trump is supposed to be Putins kept boy--that's drivel.
I don't have to like Trump to know a real war-monger when I see one. And McCain is an interventionist--everyone knows that.
But I do respect your opinion. Only time will tell.
I didn't vote for Trump mind you--I just think the arguments here make sense to me:
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-we-must-oppose-the-kremlin-baiting-against-trump/
John Oliver's spin on how Trump is supposed to be Putins kept boy--that's drivel.
I don't have to like Trump to know a real war-monger when I see one. And McCain is an interventionist--everyone knows that.
But I do respect your opinion. Only time will tell.
I don't know, I think the combination of:
a) a nuclear World War III killing hundreds of millions (and more in the aftermath) in the recent past
b) contact and technological exchange with extraterrestrial life with the knowledge of more in the stellar neighborhood
c) advent of relatively simple, low-cost (given that a small group in a remote outpost built it from scraps) FTL drives to establish trade and colonies among the stars
...all happening within a decade of each other would provide a pretty major motivating factor for a massive paradigm shift in human behavior.
The war would serve as a reminder of the fragility of human life and the need to move offworld to make sure we can't be wiped out in a single incident or disaster, and would drive the nations of the world toward greater cooperation and unity (though it would still take some time for everyone to join up).
The arrival of the Vulcans would comfort some that we were not alone in the universe and provide hope and a renewal of scientific interest, while others would see it as a need to branch out in order to make sure we were aware of the threats to our existence from beyond the solar system, and both attitudes would drive exploration and construction of a military/scientific exploration corps.
The presence of low-cost FTL drives opens up the opportunity for disparate groups who are not content with the developing New United Nations movement to seek out their own colonies among the stars.
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