Worthy aspects of Cardassian culture?
- Thread starter Ragitsu
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According to Garak, Cardassia was once the embodiment of art, culture, literature, etc. Not that we saw much of that, but it supposedly had a proud and noble past. But with how they were presented to us, they just looked like a bargain-bin version of Klingon/Romulan hybrids (the worst aspects - including appearance-wise - of both). In fact, if I had to compare them to anyone today (and going all the way back to when we first met them in TNG), they seem a lot like N. Korea. A lot of posturing and belligerent attitude, but without the real means to back that up.
But I think you were looking for something positive... they gave us Garak. I hear he was a helluva tailor.
But I think you were looking for something positive... they gave us Garak. I hear he was a helluva tailor.
Cardassians are a complex people, to be sure. Lwaxana Troi once said of them that watching a Cardassian weep at the death of his child's pet wompet (a ferretlike creature), it's hard to imagine him cutting down a foe without blinking. But he will.
They are passionate. They value family, loyalty, and duty. They educate and nurture the young, they care for the old, they protect their own. It's what they do to everyone else that's the problem.
They are passionate. They value family, loyalty, and duty. They educate and nurture the young, they care for the old, they protect their own. It's what they do to everyone else that's the problem.
They have patience for slow, boring art.
Well, I'm trying the best I can to become like Garak in manners.
Definitely my favorite DS9 character.
They are very family oriented. Granted, not towards Ziyal.
Do you believe that Dukat's thought process regarding half breeds and/or children born out of wedlock was representative of Cardassian culture?
Oh, definitely toward Ziyal. Consider that Dukat knew what would happen to him (demotion, loss of his wife and kids) if he showed up on Cardassia with Ziyal. And yet, he did it anyway.
To a Cardassian, Dukat's legitimate family is the one he owes loyalty to, not his child with a mistress.
Their female scientists make the first move - great for nerds like me. (Destiny)
They write repetitive books (The Wire) which would save me a lot of time on reading.
But without joking, if Garak was telling the truth, they had a very different past, before the military took over. It would have been interesting to see that Cardassia.
They write repetitive books (The Wire) which would save me a lot of time on reading.
But without joking, if Garak was telling the truth, they had a very different past, before the military took over. It would have been interesting to see that Cardassia.
If we think of them like Rome, Rome had a great and glorious past, and spread their amazing culture (and roads) everywhere. However, they were also some of the worst 'colonizers', conquering the savages (barbarians) "for their own good", and bringing back all the wealth from those conquered states. And when they stopped paying their army, it marched back and pillaged Rome itself... because that's all it knew.
The problem with most 'magnificent empires' is that there are usually lots and lots of very unhappy people outside that empire that live a life of toil and misery, so that the citizens of said empire can have the leisurely time to sit around and write, sculpt, paint, etc. - all those real cool cultural things people who are just trying to eat today don't have time to worry about. So yeah, the two go hand-in-hand. I am sure Cardassian culture was an amazing thing.
The problem with most 'magnificent empires' is that there are usually lots and lots of very unhappy people outside that empire that live a life of toil and misery, so that the citizens of said empire can have the leisurely time to sit around and write, sculpt, paint, etc. - all those real cool cultural things people who are just trying to eat today don't have time to worry about. So yeah, the two go hand-in-hand. I am sure Cardassian culture was an amazing thing.
None that I can think of.
We can piece together some aspects of ancient Cardassian history.
Madred and Picard talked about Cardassia's First Hebitian civilization and the magnificent vaults and artefacts that they left behind. Picard also said that in the old days, the Cardassians were "a peaceful people with a rich spiritual life." Gul Madred's response was, "And what did peace and spirituality get us? People starved by the millions. Bodies went unburied. Disease was rampant. Suffering was unimaginable." And the ancient Hebitian tombs were plundered during Cardassia's impoverished period within the last couple centuries prior to TNG.
We can surmise that at some point in premodern history, Cardassia had its glory days of enlightened civilization and splendor, with all that art, literature, spirituality, etc. And then all that fell apart, and their society fell on extremely hard times. And then there was the military junta, which led to the Cardassian society that we saw in TNG and DS9.
Maybe under the military rule, there was some revival of all that stuff Garak talked about? Because when he waxes poetic about the "rich and ancient culture" and the art and music and whatnot, he is talking about the Cardassia that he knew personally before his exile, not some ancient period. Or maybe he's looking at things through the Cardassian equivalent of rose-colored glasses. Maybe part of the military dictatorship's propaganda machine was glorifying and playing up their ancient culture, but in a way that made the military government look good. Or maybe the Detapa Council was able to get more funding for arts and cultural programs as a gesture from the Central Command to make them feel like they were actually doing something.
Kor
I wasn't bad-mouthing Rome. They are far from the worst offenders, historically, if that can even be applied to an empire. They were necessary for their time period, and like the saying goes, "you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs".
Creating civilization isn't pretty, its painful. And someone always suffers for it. The Cardassians are no more or less horrible than dozens of Earth cultures, and they've all given us contributions. They probably did the Bajorans a favor - they've been through the crucible and have come out the other end better for it.
I wouldn't go that far. Nietzsche might have said "That which does not kill me makes me stronger", but that doesn't mean almost being killed is a good thing. You don't go around kicking rattlesnakes just so you can survive being bitten.
I am just stating facts, not justifying anything.
I've often used this argument on the internet while addressing the topic you mention -
Say I created a time-machine, and announced to the world that I was going to go back in time and stop slavery (in America) from ever happening. Simply make it never exist (like every other episode of Voyager LOL). Which group do you think would try to stop me, and which group do you think would try to help me in any way they could? Just think about it... I'll give you all the time you need.
Being a realist doesn't make me a bad person, it just makes me accept the reality of my (and everyone else's) being human. We are flawed, but those flaws eventually lead to amazing things. Animals don't make each other suffer. They also don't build spaceships. Cheers
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