Why does everyone bash the Federation?

[indolover]

Federation values make it seem weak to outsiders. I'd imagine Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians in some sense see the Federation as weak and soft. If one is a warrior culture, a culture based on secrecy, deceit and guile, and a culture based on absolute obedience to the state, how would you see a neighbouring culture that believes in peace at all costs and peaceful co-existence? lol..

Of course, the Federation is not weak at all, and must have literally thousands of vessels at a time at its command. But the face of the Federation, compared to its neighbours, invites that criticism.

I think another thing is that Bajorans resented the Federation, at least in the short-run, for not liberating them from the Cardassians. Perhaps this is why Kira disliked the Federation at first.

 

[Neutral Zone]

Federation values make it seem weak to outsiders. I'd imagine Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians in some sense see the Federation as weak and soft. If one is a warrior culture, a culture based on secrecy, deceit and guile, and a culture based on absolute obedience to the state, how would you see a neighbouring culture that believes in peace at all costs and peaceful co-existence? lol..

Of course, the Federation is not weak at all, and must have literally thousands of vessels at a time at its command. But the face of the Federation, compared to its neighbours, invites that criticism.

I think another thing is that Bajorans resented the Federation, at least in the short-run, for not liberating them from the Cardassians. Perhaps this is why Kira disliked the Federation at first.

Also, they could be suspicious of their ulteria motives. You have to admit when the Federation get involved it's hard to get rid of them afterwards.

 

[T'Girl]

^^^ And just like the Federation, when the Cardassians first arrived, they were full of promises and soft talk and foreign aid packages and good advice.

 

[Phily B]

Federation could've wiped the floor with the Cardassians if they'd put effort into it, and I'm not even talking about having to pump out lots more ships like the Dominion War. It always cracks me up when in The Wounded when the Phoenix wipes the floor with a Cardassian Warship and supply ship with no worries, flying around Cardassian space unopposed.

I understand the Bajorans point of view, its what makes them an interesting race.

 

[T'Girl]

Goes back to what I posted before, the Federation policy towards the Cardassian Union was likely based upon their political and philosophical construct. If after the overt first hostile action by the Cardassians, the Starfleet had given the Cardassians a good hard spanking and insisted upon a dismantling of their major fleet assets, this would have knocked the Cardassians out of the game for decades to come. If the Federation had also require the Cardassians to withdraw from any conquest colonies, this would have benefited the Bajorians and possibly several other races that the Cardassians were "helping."

This course of action (one war, not many) would have avoided the situation that resulted in the border treaty and the formation of the Maquis. It would also have made it more difficult for the Dominion to gain a foothold in the Alpha quadrant, saving countless Federation and Klingon lives.

The decision (easily made by politicians, safely isolated at the interior of the Federation) to seek a diplomatic and political solution to the "little border problem," in the end cost far more lives than simply pouring in the forces and obtaining a quick fix.

 

[Anwar]

Of course, total war over a minor border dispute isn't exactly a common response. That, and the shows are still inconsistent over how powerful Cardassian tech is: Their ships are supposedly inferior to Federation military tech but then DS9 showed them with those defensive batteries that ripped Starfleet to shreds at Chin'Toka (and those were 100% Cardassian, not Dominion).

 

[Navaros]

Why does everyone bash the Federation?

Because DS9 is a drama, and drama requires conflict. If no one bashed the Federation, there would be little or no conflict, hence the drama would fail.

Anyhow, you will be pleased to know that on the whole, the DS9 show supports the Federation rather than bashes it.

Although that is ironic, because the content of the show does not support the showrunners' endorsement of the Federation, but rather it supports the views of the characters within it who bash the Federation, such as Eddington.

 

[Tomalak]

Of course, total war over a minor border dispute isn't exactly a common response. That, and the shows are still inconsistent over how powerful Cardassian tech is: Their ships are supposedly inferior to Federation military tech but then DS9 showed them with those defensive batteries that ripped Starfleet to shreds at Chin'Toka (and those were 100% Cardassian, not Dominion).

No evidence they were 100% Cardassian. Damar just says they are "our" new platforms, and Weyoun says he likes them. They could be a Cardassian design augmented with Dominion technology.

The original idea behind the Cardassians is that they were a somewhat stagnant culture, needing to expand through conquest of planets like Bajor in order to keep their dirty industry going.