Why Unification?

[JesterFace]

Spock failed to bridge the divide between Vulcans and Romulans, but ironically he succeeded in healing the rift between himself and Sarek.

Unfortunately it happened after Sarek died.
But, at least Spock got some closure.

 

[DonIago]

Spock failed to bridge the divide between Vulcans and Romulans, but ironically he succeeded in healing the rift between himself and Sarek.

We see from DISCO that it didn't ultimately fail; it just took a very long time and was probably more of a challenge than anyone could hope to accomplish in their lifetime.

 

[Roundabout]

We see from DISCO that it didn't ultimately fail; it just took a very long time and was probably more of a challenge than anyone could hope to accomplish in their lifetime.

I'll be on the lookout for that when I get around to finish watching the DSC series.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Perhaps the happy medium would be to keep two separate cultures and create a third unified world of those so inclined, with regular peace meetings between the two, mediated by the third.

Segregation causes more problems than it fixes. Historically it has never worked out to the benefit of all.

 

[FredH]

Presumably many still do, since in DISCO there’s mention of Ni’Var having to crush insurgencies.

How things have changed: in the old days, I’m pretty sure a planet still having to crush insurgencies would keep it from Federation membership. But it’s a harder-edged, more practical age. I don’t have a problem with that, but I guess I understand why some do.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

The situation with Vulcan/Romulus is absolutely nothing like the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese were insurgents fighting a rebellion. Bajor/Cardassia is more like it.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Segregation? No, I just meant let everybody choose whatever group they want to belong to, with as much or little interaction between the groups as each one chooses to have.

Interesting, those who think it was a metaphor for Spock and his father's relationship. Did he think it might be easier to change whole societies than move his father's heart?

 

[DonIago]

Segregation? No, I just meant let everybody choose whatever group they want to belong to, with as much or little interaction between the groups as each one chooses to have.

Interesting, those who think it was a metaphor for Spock and his father's relationship. Did he think it might be easier to change whole societies than move his father's heart?

Given that it wasn't the first severe disagreement Spock and Sarek had had...

 

[Lynx]

The situation with Vulcan/Romulus is absolutely nothing like the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese were insurgents fighting a rebellion. Bajor/Cardassia is more like it.

I have to disagree here.
The Vietnam War was actually about a Communist dictatorship in the northern part of the divided country trying to take over the somewaht more democratic southern part while the Cardassia/Bajor situation was more like when Germany invaded and occupied Poland in 1939.

 

[xenotaris]

They do speak a weird dialect of English across the pond, to be sure.

Well our American dialect is actually the original peasant dialect in Britain, it was after America broke away the queen's English was taught to the British poor to make them sound less American.

A lot of southern accents have some of their origin in Irish and Scottish dialects mixed with German and French

 

[fireproof78]

I have to disagree here.
The Vietnam War was actually about a Communist dictatorship in the northern part of the divided country trying to take over the somewaht more democratic southern part while the Cardassia/Bajor situation was more like when Germany invaded and occupied Poland in 1939.

Richard is from Vietnam. He knows the history better than we do.

Well our American dialect is actually the original peasant dialect in Britain, it was after America broke away the queen's English was taught to the British poor to make them sound less American.

A lot of southern accents have some of their origin in Irish and Scottish dialects mixed with German and French

That's what you get when you mix about 8 languages and go "Have fun!"

And there are about 7 or so distinct American accents, with some dialect differences.

 

[aquova]

I don't agree with these examples. These countries are physically next to each other, were forcibly separated by external forces, and it was done recently enough that the citizens still share the same language, culture, and memory of the event.

Romulus was created thousands (5?) of years in the past by a voluntary exodus. They are separated by many light years. There was no memory of the event or the relationship. They have different languages and cultures.

I agree with this point. Germany, Vietnam, and/or Korea were nations that had been unified a century earlier and still had a common language and culture. The Vulcans and Romulans are literal lightyears away and have deviated so much that the Vulcans didn't even know they shared a common ancestry until TOS. I can understand Spock wanting to help the oppressed Romulan people, maybe even push for Federation membership some day, but reunification with the planet Vulcan in particular seems like a massive leap. It would be like wanting to unite two random nations on Earth because we technically have a shared ancestry.

All that being said, I think the actual answer was the episode was written in 1991, shortly after German Reunification. They wanted to have an episode with allusions to that event, and the closest pre-existing examples they had were the Vulcans and Romulans. So while I don't think the example of Germany can really apply to the scenario, it definitely influenced the writer's room.

 

[Denise]

With Vulcan (and I presume Ni-Var's) arid climate and limited water, I imagine there was a lot of strain on planetary resources.