Who is the Most Moral DS9 Character?

[Farscape One]

The franchise has among the most honorable, courageous, ethical, and moral stories, ideas, and questions in scifi. The characters, in particular, show a wide range of morality and ethics that make us think, and challenge us to not only be a better version of ourselves, but the best humans we can possibly become.

When I was growing up, STAR TREK was a huge part of my life. As an adult, so much of it has stayed with me. I am a huge scifi fan, and I have always felt that if I ever had children, STAR TREK is what I'd show them to help mold them into strong moral and ethical adults.

I thought of this subject while having a conversation with my wife about some of my favorite characters, so now I ask all of you.

Who do you think is the most moral, ethical person on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE?

(Given how large the amount of characters are on DS9, I may have forgotten one or two. If I have, please let me know.)

 

[Farscape One]

One reason why I included Martok, Garak, and other aliens is because I was thinking they might be moral according to their cultures and belief systems. I thought it would only be fair to include them based on that reasoning.

 

[Kilana2]

It would have been easier to list the amoral persons.

1. Jadzia. Always loyal. She sticks to the rules of Starfleet and Science.
2. Bashir. He might be the product of amoral behaviour (enhancement by his parents), but he his a good doctor, bound to the Hippocratic Oath.
3. Odo. Ensures law and order. He is not bribable and was even referee (umpire?) in the baseball game.
4. Rom - too innocent to do something completely wrong and evil.
5. Nog - he is able to reconcile Federation rules and standards with Ferengi tradition. At least the Nog after he attended the Academy.
6. As Grand Nagus Zek upholds the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition and Ferengi traditions. But he does it wisely with a pinch of snuff ehm humor.
7. Vic Fontaine. Kind of Everybody's Darling.
8. General Martok. A real Klingon warrior. He is able to intercede between his people and the Starfleet people. And he has the respect of Sisko and Worf among others.
9. Kai Opaka - as a leader for Bajor. Quite the contrary to Winn.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Odo consistently put his moral beliefs over his self interest, whereas all the other characters while they were willing to make sacrifices for morality, they drew the line at end of civilization, whereas Odo didn't even draw it there.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

One reason why I included Martok, Garak, and other aliens is because I was thinking they might be moral according to their cultures and belief systems. I thought it would only be fair to include them based on that reasoning.

Garak was willing to go against authority for reasons of empathy in extreme cases, which is very immoral by Cardassian standards.

 

[tomalak301]

Odo was always on the side of justice, unless he was manipulated by the female founder. Even in that scene he had to deal with the consequences of his actions.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Odo consistently put his moral beliefs over his self interest, whereas all the other characters while they were willing to make sacrifices for morality, they drew the line at end of civilization, whereas Odo didn't even draw it there.

Crossfire?
Things Past?
Children of Time?
Or worst, Behind the Lines?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Crossfire?
Things Past?
Children of Time?
Or worst, Behind the Lines?

Children of Time was a different version of Odo, if he had lived 200 years in a timeline that never happened.
Things Past was an error, not a moral failure.
Crossfire, again, was an error. He got distracted and failed.
Behind the Lines is really the one time the prime timeline Odo started putting his desire to be close with his people first.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Children of Time was a different version of Odo, if he had lived 200 years in a timeline that never happened.
Things Past was an error, not a moral failure.
Crossfire, again, was an error. He got distracted and failed.
Behind the Lines is really the one time the prime timeline Odo started putting his desire to be close with his people first.

Arguably, Odo from CoT was different, but all the other cases definitely show him focusing on self-interest above other concerns. In one case, it almost led to the assassination of the First Minister. In the second, it led to the execution of innocents. In the third, it almost led to the enslavement of the Federation.

 

[kkt]

I disagree about Jadzia - "Blood Oath" was an example of less than moral behavior. Curzon swore to get vengence, not Jadzia, so she had no business going on the quest. Compounded by ignoring Sisko's order not to go. Then there's Meridian. They didn't mention it on the show, but there are no other Trills on Meridian! She would be condemning the symbiont to die if the host dies. Most unethical for Trills, were are given to understand. Then there's reassociation, which would have happened if Dr. Lenara Kahn hadn't been more able to control her desires to conform to ethical behavior than Jadzia was.

 

[Terok Nor]

Jadzia. She was the heart of DS9.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

I said Odo, but I've changed my mind. The female Changeling never once compromised her ethics or morals (namely, the Great Link first and the Dominion next, everything else be controlled or damned). Even her concession was done to preserve the Great Link. Infecting Odo with the illness designed to return him to the Link for judgement, i.e. harming another Changeling, was done with the intent of helping him. She was uncompromising in her species' ethics and morals.

 

[clorets]

Garak, he was willing to sacrifice himself and his friends for the greater good by trying to destroy the Great Link. If he had he would have saved Cardassia and millions of people. He came close to shooting Gul Dukat in the back too which would have saved millions. Instead he lived to see a War with the Dominion that lead to massive devastation of his homeworld.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I said Odo, but I've changed my mind. The female Changeling never once compromised her ethics or morals (namely, the Great Link first and the Dominion next, everything else be controlled or damned). Even her concession was done to preserve the Great Link. Infecting Odo with the illness designed to return him to the Link for judgement, i.e. harming another Changeling, was done with the intent of helping him. She was uncompromising in her species' ethics and morals.

You have to summon up a great deal of moral relativism to call a genocidal maniac moral.

There has to be more of a test of morality than "Sticking to their own beliefs", or else terrorists are moral. A moral system that justifies the murder of billions and domination of trillions can't possibly be called moral no matter how strictly you stick to it.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Probably Worf and Ezri.

Worf had one OOC moment in the episode "The Sword of Kahless". Which sucked and we should ignore it.

Ezri's one questionable episode would be "Field of Fire". But I'd give her a past for flirting with the dark side, given the circumstances.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

You have to summon up a great deal of moral relativism to call a genocidal maniac moral.

There has to be more of a test of morality than "Sticking to their own beliefs", or else terrorists are moral. A moral system that justifies the murder of billions and domination of trillions can't possibly be called moral no matter how strictly you stick to it.

For humans, absolutely. But the Founders are an alien culture, and their moral and ethical framework is equally alien. Within their belief system, their actions are moral and ethical, and the Female Changeling acted in clear accord with their belief system. That system was in direct opposition to Federation morals and ethics, hence the Dominion War.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

For humans, absolutely. But the Founders are an alien culture, and their moral and ethical framework is equally alien. Within their belief system, their actions are moral and ethical, and the Female Changeling acted in clear accord with their belief system. That system was in direct opposition to Federation morals and ethics, hence the Dominion War.

While there is something to be said that right and wrong will be different for different cultures and species, I think that is a low bar when discussing the most moral person. Nor is enforcing such standards really sufficient: it's like saying the cop who enforces the traffic code is the best driver.

A person of the highest caliber morality, rather than blindly accepting her/his moral right, acknowledges and accepts the existence of such other moralities. That should have two consequences. First, s/he is willing to question what morality means as s/he encounters other cultures and individuals, and second, won't use his/her own code of conduct to overpower others. The founders' compulsion toward orderliness, whether expressed as Odo's love of justice, or the Female Founders quest for control, can only at best be described as a low level of moral behavior. There are, of course, moments when Odo shows more than slavish grasp of right and wrong, like in Profit and Loss. More importantly, Odo comes to respect the differences between what he wants, justice, and what other cultures, like the Federation, provide throughout the sixth and seventh seasons. Nevertheless, that questioning of what he believes vis a vis others is something that Odo does but the other Founders do not.

 

[Nyotarules]

I said Odo, but I've changed my mind. The female Changeling never once compromised her ethics or morals (namely, the Great Link first and the Dominion next, everything else be controlled or damned). Even her concession was done to preserve the Great Link. Infecting Odo with the illness designed to return him to the Link for judgement, i.e. harming another Changeling, was done with the intent of helping him. She was uncompromising in her species' ethics and morals.

Being uncompromising does not make you moral it just makes you a dictator

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

^
To be most moral, one must accept and condone other moralities that differ 180 degrees from one's set of morals? A Klingon would be on his culture's moral high ground if he slayed the entire house of his enemy in revenge, whereas a human may consider such an act barbaric and immoral. The Klingon's code, while it may acknowledge the code of others, absolutely compels him to overpower others in some situations. See Worf, Duras, and Picard.

 

[Nyotarules]

^
To be most moral, one must accept and condone other moralities that differ 180 degrees from one's set of morals? A Klingon would be on his culture's moral high ground if he slayed the entire house of his enemy in revenge, whereas a human may consider such an act barbaric and immoral. The Klingon's code, while it may acknowledge the code of others, absolutely compels him to overpower others in some situations. See Worf, Duras, and Picard.

Is that what I stated?