There's a moral to this story.

[spoonunseptium]

So, have you learned anything about life from Star Trek -any series, any movie, any book?


The most profound thing I can think of is that when I was first rediscovering Voyager, I had a subtle paradigm shift about humanity.

One day I was just letting my imagine run wild and I thought about the ramifications of what the universe would be like if there really were aliens. I mean, if you think about it -- suddenly it wouldn't matter if I were American or Communist or Buddhist or black... we're all just human.

To further my point: my parents are kind of paranoid about world affairs, and they have this idea that there's some international conspiracy to develope a One World government. While I was growing up they'd always tell me this stuff.

and now I think- so what?

Apart from loss of freedom or whatever(if someone out there really did want a world government), it doesn't matter. It really is just one world. It's one earth, one planet.

The world gets much smaller and simpler when you take a step back from the internal strife of myriad societies, and you see that we're all just human.

I'm having trouble explaining this revelation, which I could totally write a book on when it comes to all the related thoughts that go along with it. And it's not that I didn't think this before, it was just profoundly expounded upon.

This was in part inspired by watching Star Trek and seeing characters that would go around not saying things like "I'm Colombian; I'm American; I'm African," but "I'm human."

Well, with a few exceptions. Also, I don't want to detract from cultural pride or anything - that's all a part of being a person too(I'm totally partiotic and stuff).

We're all just people! aah!

I have also learned alot about perserverance and learning to out-smart any situation(if you can't go through, you gotta go around it, if you can't go around it, you gotta go under it...and so on). I mean, the Star Trek series aren't exactly realistic, but it's a darn good Aesop Fable!



Have you pondered anything new because of Star Trek? Been inspired to peruse a philosophical idea? learned any morals?

discuss.

 

[kv1at3485]

Thanks to ST, I've come to believe that ultimately the only thing that matters is that people keep thinking. Because when people stop thinking things like ST becomes a possibility, where comfort and security is an illusion built on sand and vulnerability to outside context problems goes through the roof.

 

[Marie1]

The Jem'Hadar remind me of the child soldiers in Africa, and the efforts to rehabilitate them. I've been meaning to look into how thats going and if there's been more victims.

ST has taught me quite a bit about "rehabilitation."

 

[sbk1234]

Nothing too profound here. Trek has taught me about being open minded to other cultures and races, and to look for the peaceful solution.

 

[TheGodBen]

I learned that people called Ben have a possibility of being a god. It has fuelled my ego for many years.

 

[jgdst]

^ lol!

I generally took the main ideas away, as it seems other people have. I've often wondered if the Prime Directive can be applied to world politics, if it will ever be possible to move beyond monetary greed and what'll happen to the 'petty thugs' once the oil runs out.

The thing the OP stated was that no-one really ever refers to themself as French, Spanish, English first, but always Human - and that's really important. But then the flipside is we often see episodes where a person/tribe/colony/race's cultural identity is about to be destroyed, and how important it is to hold onto it.

I'll admit that Star Trek is what set me on my original career path at school, leading me to study the Hubble Deep Field and realising how absolutely insignificant everyone is on a universal scale, and at the same time completely significant in the overall picture.

More than anything, Trek's taught me the almost clichéd idea that the more I know, the less I actually know, and to realise I know nothing is the first step to enlightnement And to learn everything there is to be learned, cos just around the next planet, just around the next star, there's a gazelle waiting to be found.

 

[jamestyler]

Does anyone remember the old 'Everything I leaned in life...' Trek poster? That was pretty much me...

My father didn't kick into fatherhood until he left the country and realised his mistakes, so my guide was the two shows he made me watch; Doctor Who and Star Trek.

From Doctor Who I learned that when I die, it's fine... I'll regenerate. But I got an odd moral code from the land of Trek - particularly TNG which gave me a completely different set of ideals than my mother who was the more active parent. As nerdy and pathetic as it may sound - I don't think I would be the same person without the influence.

 

[ChickenPug!]

For me it's try diplomacy first.

 

[Marie1]

^^ One of my teachers had one of those!! It helped me with ST since most people I know don't like it... and most people at home are very bitter about watching it.

 

[Biggshow]

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." and sometimes it's the other way around.

Also a big fan of the Prime Directive.