Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfleet?

[Good Will Riker]

This is a very important question, because Benjamin Sisko himself being a son of a restauranteur/gourmet chef originally setout to be an engineering officer in Starfleet. Then, fortuitously through luck, opportunities, and hard work he rose up in the ranks and eventually became one of the most distinguished Starfleet captains during the late-24th century.

Who influenced him to become a leader, whether it be personal role models throughout his life or historical figures throughout the centuries?

This is important, because Kirk, Janeway, and Archer obviously had their fathers, while Picard forged his own path in Starfleet due to superior academic skills and personal know how.

 

[thew40]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

The guy in your avatar!

 

[JoeD80]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

He was planning to resign at the beginning of the DS9 series; he was trying to not be a leader. The Prophets played a role in him becoming more of a leader when at the end of "Emissary" he decides he is needed there on the station after his experiences.

 

[Damask]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

This is important, because Kirk, Janeway, and Archer obviously had their fathers, while Picard forged his own path in Starfleet due to superior academic skills and personal know how.

With the what now?

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

James T. Kirk.

 

[Navaros]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

I don't think he had all that many role models. IMO the Sisko was his own man and just did whatever the heck he felt like doing.

 

[Marie1]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

Curzon Dax... :P

 

[Good Will Riker]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

The guy in your avatar!

Imagine a young college professor and a former community organizer in Chicago, Illinois who happens to be a Star Trek fan tuned into watch "Past Tense, Parts I and II" in January 1995, and was inspired to one day do what is right for our country by standing up to poverty, oppression, and big government like the way Benjamin Sisko did by assuming the mantle of the fallen Gabriel Bell during the uprising at the sanctuary districts.

Life imitates art, and art influences life. Had it not been for the cautionary tale of this episode, that clairvoyant young man would not have stood up for what is right, and perhaps we may not have ended up with the change that we could believe in today.

But, we did. And, we will know come this November. We may never know whether this particular 2-part DS9 episode influenced that young man, but that young man from those years ago perhaps may indeed be the unmentioned hero who turned the tide -- sorry, Gabriel Bell -- but THIS MAN is the one who turned the tide for us here in the United States and regained our respect abroad. And, that man, my folks is perhaps one of the big names in our history that may infact shaped future generations ahead of us and allowed men like Benjamin Sisko to reach out to the stars and fulfill his dreams.

But, in universe and canonically, I believe that it is Captain Leyton who was Sisko's role model in achieving greatness as a leader that he came to be known for. It was Leyton who promoted Sisko from engineering to first officer...and the rest they say is Starfleet history.

 

[DarKush]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

Obviously his father was a major influence on him, in terms of forging his character, being a sounding board, etc. Sisko also expressed admiration for James Kirk. Sisko also seemed knowledgeable of black history and there are plenty examples there to choose from, your avatar being one.

Other potential influences: Curzon, Adm. Whatley, Calvin Hudson, Adm. Leyton, maybe Jennifer Sisko

 

[Apogeal Alpha01]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

In terms of molding his style of command? It might have been the Vulcan Capt. he served under on the Saratoga. Or is it that his character is pretty much molded by the time you attain a First Officer's rank? It could be that the Vulcan Capt would have ben the antithesis of the type of Capt he would have become given his fued with Solok.

He was delighted to meet Capt. Kirk, as was Jean-Luc Picard. My first thought is Kirk, but the best argument is for Leyton, as Good Will Riker noted.

Oh wait Curzon Dax, Marie1 is right! We're all right.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

I am just going to say it right here, and be honest an upfront about it:

When Benjamin Sisko went back in time and replaced Gabriel Bell in "Past Tense, Parts I and II," experienced visions of 1950's United States from the Prophets in "Far Beyond the Stars," and went inside Vic Fontaine's casino holosuite program in "Badda Bing, Badda Bang," in at least one of those instances Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama flashed across his mind as trailblazers who helped bring about change in the perceptions of African Americans living in the United States in the Earth time periods he time traveled to/had visions of/experienced a holosuite program of, and were influences/acknowledged as prominent historical figures while he was growing up.

Not only were those experiences of Sisko in those episodes a singular experience, but also a collective experience of men who came before him and helped blaze a trail for him to be the fine illustrious Starfleet captain that he came to be known by the time of the Dominion War in 2373.

 

[Navaros]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

^
There is no Barack Obama in the Trek universe.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

^
There is no Barack Obama in the Trek universe.

Sure there is. If you yourself can believe that great African American men like Benjamin Sisko can be made into one of Starfleet's finest captains during the Dominion War, surely that precedent must have been broken years back for that to happen, instead of Admiral Ross appointing another "white captain" or "white admiral" to lead the charge. And, United States President Barack Obama is the one who broke the mold for that to be a future possibility as espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. back in the 1960's.

So...you are on of those who believes that there is no United States of America in the year 2008 because Khan Noonien Singh took it over. So by your logic, since Khan Noonien Singh is waging war across the globe Barack Obama and John McCain cannot run for the presidency of the United States of America? Dude, give me a break...

Well, I myself personally belong to the Star Trek camp that believes that our natural history dovetails with that of Star Trek's fictional history within the confines of the fictional Star Trek universe quite nicely. There's nothing wrong with that. It is when we get to the year 2350 and there are no warp engines, then we are going to run into conflicting views there in regards to this issue. But, not right now.

 

[JoeD80]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

Sure there is. If you yourself can believe that great African American men like Benjamin Sisko can be made into one of Starfleet's finest captains during the Dominion War, surely that precedent must have been broken years back for that to happen, instead of Admiral Ross appointing another "white captain" or "white admiral" to lead the charge.

There were already non-white Captains in Kirk's era.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

There were already non-white Captains in Kirk's era.

Yes, of course from the Fedration's "objective history" as you have read from one of those Star Trek Encyclopedias, but within the confines of Benjamin Sisko's own mind who had pride in his African American heritage, still cared for African tribal art, American jazz, and the struggles of the African American causes of the 20th and 21st centuries ("Past Tense, Parts I and II, "Far Beyond the Stars," "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang.") figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and the presumptive United States president come November 5th, 2008 Barack Obama were notable historic figures who were prominient and important in Benjamin Sisko's own African American heritage.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

^
There is no Barack Obama in the Trek universe.

Why not? We know from "Stormfront" that president Clinton and 9/11 happened in the Trek universe, so there is every reason to assume that Bush jr. and Obama also 'happened'. For better or for worse.

 

[Apogeal Alpha01]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

^^ I see your point, I think. In the Star Trek universe a world wide war between all of humanity and the Kahn brethren evolved all humans perceptions of one another to a point that mentors of the same race would not be strictly necessary. Not impossible, not everyone who has succeeded has had a mentor, usually just someone who helped them believe in their ambition, or goal. Black people have relied on faith to walk paths where there was no precedent for them. Plausibly, the First Contact scenario could have been responsible for furthering the same maturation process, so that a Captain Sisko could come about in the future.

But I think you've limited Sisko's history if we're to include recent history since Dr. King and TOS was first aired. If Sisko was inspired by late 20th and early 21st century blacks of historical note, he would have known about Robert Henry Lawrence, Ronald McNair, or, Robert Curbeam After all, they were spacemen, too

 

[JoeD80]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

There were already non-white Captains in Kirk's era.

Yes, of course from the Fedration's "objective history" as you have read from one of those Star Trek Encyclopedias, but within the confines of Benjamin Sisko's own mind who had pride in his African American heritage, still cared for African tribal art, American jazz, and the struggles of the African American causes of the 20th and 21st centuries ("Past Tense, Parts I and II, "Far Beyond the Stars," "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang.") figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and the presumptive United States president come November 5th, 2008 Barack Obama were notable historic figures who were prominient and important in Benjamin Sisko's own African American heritage.

Yeah, Sisko said to himself "Gee, there have already been quite a few black officers in Starfleet, but the only black people that matter lived in the 20th and 21st centuries and I must define myself by them." That's totally what happened. And I wasn't talking of Star Trek encyclopedias, I was talking of the original show itself.

 

[Apogeal Alpha01]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

Right, in universe, Avery Brooks lobbied for socially meaningful episodes like, "Far Beyond the Stars," and "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang," or Past Tense, to say something about African Americans to people in our time.

Nevertheless, we can acknowledge that there are people today who are inspired by the greats of history, trailblazers, people firm enough in their convictions to see themselves and others through extremely difficult times like Adams and Jefferson, Lincoln, Ben Franklin, Roosevelt, Johnson, King, Obama etc., people who lived centuries ago. Sisko grew up in a Federation free of the current prejudices. I think he would have really been inspired by his contemporaries, and his father's generation, who were in turn inspired by a generation before them. Knowing one's history is important in that sense but it does not mean that you live in the past.

Sisko is also from a very old city, New Orleans, with it's own sense of history and culture and a strong Africa American influence which is obvious from the sets during visits to the Sisko home. I don't think he had to live in the past, or seek inspiration from 300 years ago.

 

[Red Ranger]

Re: Who was Ben Sisko's role model who influenced him most for Starfle

GWR, et al.,

I agree that as far as modern mentors go, Leyton would be probably the most influential in Sisko's life and career. It was Leyton who convinced Sisko that he had talents outside of engineering. And I also think Curzon Dax is another candidate for influential mentor and role model. Cal Hudson? Not quite. I think Sisko was his friend like how Gary Mitchell was James Kirk's friend and colleague.

I can also see Sisko admiring historical figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, Benjamin Banneker, Nelson Mandela, and other African and African-American folks. As well as people like Captain Kirk, maybe even Captain Christopher Pike.

Red Ranger