The sad irony about the message of Star Trek

[Temis the Vorta]

So ultimately, it's just a very poor guide for humanity. "If you have everything, you don't need to worry."

Yeah, I noticed that many years ago (largely courtesy of DS9, as you pointed out.) It's easy to be a saint in a technologically-produced paradise of unbounded resources.

Even then, humanity can't just stay at home and play with their replicator- and holosuite-manufacutred toys. No, they must "explore" the cosmos, which ends up being equivalent to tromping on other people's turf, which incites conflict. And then Starfleet stands around blinking in wonderment at the perplexing viciousness of their alien neighbors.

So Star Trek's true message about human nature is, even when we have everything we could possibly want, we want more, and will make trouble for everyone because it's our nature to do so. Yeesh. How is that positive at all? Hew-mons might as well be Klingons. At least the turtleheads know how to throw a party.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I hate to break it to you but Earth is paradise. It's what people do in it that makes or breaks every individual's experience.

Try living in nature without the security blanket of technology for a month or even a week, and see how paradisical your experience is.

Earth is a savage, bloody jungle in its natural state. Technology is humanity's solution. Star Trek's lesson is that technology can create the illusion of paradise, but humans carry their hell around with them. We'll carry hell to the stars!

 

[Gaith]

I think the only real message Trek has is that the future is something to look forward to.

Well that and most of the women are smoking hot.

Win.

 

[T'Girl]

Try living in nature without the security blanket of technology for a month or even a week, and see how paradisical your experience is.

Technology is a modern convenience, and not a necessity. Our ancestors lived quite well for thousands of years without it, certainly without high technology. For many of the people on this world, access to modern technology goes back a surprisingly short period of time. The people we were thousands of years ago, will most likely be the same people we are hundreds of years from now. With the same virtues and same follies.

 

[Sci]

Try living in nature without the security blanket of technology for a month or even a week, and see how paradisical your experience is.

Technology is a modern convenience, and not a necessity. Our ancestors lived quite well for thousands of years without it,

Only if you define astronomically high infant mortality rates, rates of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth, and mortality rates stemming from illnesses and infections as "quite well." I sure as hell wouldn't.

 

[horatio83]

It is just a stupid reactionary fantasy about the good ol' times which has nothing to do with the actual quality of life.

 

[stj]

The idea that reality requires you to get your hands dirty or other such mindless cliches is reactionary twaddle. AKA bullshit. The idea that the prevailing morality cannot and will not change is also a mindless cliche, easily refuted by a cursory examination of history rather than the wishful thinking of a deformed conscience. More bullshit. Insofar as DS9 actually assumed this bullshit, what seems to be the consensus view of its fans, the series was a pile of bullshit.

Star Trek properly assumed that a better world was possible. The Prime Directive and IDIC tropes it introduced however, as quasianarchist notions cannot sustain analysis. Everybody being tolerant and doing their own thing without "interference" is vaguely nice sounding, but it is not a thought out set of ideas. It's just a pose. Which is why limiting the series' exposure to Earth was so practically important. The later bare assertion that they don't use money is as much an acknowledgement that economic arrangements are susceptible to human control as all the Trek shows ever got.

As to the insistence that petty conflicts between people are the heart of drama (a criticism leveled against TNG in particular,) all I can say is, maybe your vicarious fantasy life requires an asshole to identify with. But this is not true of everyone. Trying to erect this into a political/social/economic/moral principle is remarkably arrogant as well as dreary.

 

[horatio83]

DS9 asked the right questions.

The Maquis issue was a natural consequence of the land for peace with the treaty Cardassians. I fail to see the inherent wickedness as it is practically impossible to conduct politics without harming anyone in a political entity which consists of trillions of citizens. Peace has a price and the Feds are always willing to pay a high price, be it giving up cloaking technology or land.
About Sisko's decision, once again we talk about the price of peace. bribing Quark and looking away when Garak does what he does is hardly a big price to bring the Romulans into the War.
Furthermore the series also showed which price is too high, genocide and infiltration of your enemies by a rogue intelligence service.

 

[ILOVETREK1701]

My opinion is that humanity had to better it's self to have no war, to have better technology which allowed them to make a paradise. But I see the original point made and some people in the st universe might revert back to what people are like today.