From: s892024@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Richard A. Muirden [GA])
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Re: Fascist State
Date: 22 Jul 92 00:36:45 GMT
Organization: RMIT Computer Centre, Melbourne Australia.

runyan@cup.hp.com (Mark Runyan) writes:

>>1) There are no elected oficials in the Federation. 

>I believe you have incorrectly inferred this.  Of course, all decisions are
>made by "Admirals" at Starfleet.  Afterall, the Enterprise is part of
>Starfleet and responds to orders in the chain of command.  There is also
>something called the Federation Council which is not part of StarFleet
>and there is the implication that the Council controls Starfleet.

Exactly. If we go back to the TOS episode "The Enterprise Incident"
and you non-canon-3rd-season-heads can hold off for a second please
because this is a small point :) Kirk and Spock are acting under
orders from the Federation Council, not even Starfleet. The
Romulans accuse them (Kirk+co) like this: "You were under orders
from Starfleet, or the Federation Council..." (or similar)

I assume, and from reading (abeit non-canon sources such as
Prime Directive and so on), that the Federation Council is like
our United Nations general assembly, with Starfleet being controlled
by their equivalent of the security council (perhaps)...

There is a lot on this kind of stuff in Prime Directive (the book)

>>2a) This is why everyone (Picard, Dr. Crusher, etc.) is so concerned that
>>Wesley get into the Academy: they know that he will end up as an accountant
>>in the mines of some fringe colony if he isn't admitted.

>This is by no means assured.  In the show "Angel One", we learned that
>there are ships that are not under Starfleet command.  From another
>episode, we learn that there are a variety of positions that could use
>someone of Wesley's background (for instance, in "Family" we learn of
>the project to raise the sea floor of Earth).

and as you pointed out, The Enterprise is a Starfleet ship whoose
officers would have all gone through the Academy.. name me one
officer in the US Army that hasn't been to boot camp somewhere? ;-)

>>3) All "legal" decisions in both the old and new shows are made completely
>>arbitrarily, ...

>I'm not sure how you arrived at this, but those legal episodes that I
>remember were supposedly a military courtmartial and would have a slightly
>different approach than civilian legal systems.

Exactly. I never saw any arbitary decisions...


>>4) Even though there are supposed to be 100's of 1,000,000,000's of people
>>in the galaxy, the Enterprise elite are always saying to people on planets
>>they've never been to things like ...

>Well, I guess it is just a small galaxy.  I admit I'm not sure which
>episodes or situations you are referring to, but I'd not be too surprised
>to learn that command personnel within Starfleet went to the Academy
>at nearly the same time.  It is, afterall, the Starfleet Academy...

YES. In the TOS episode "Court Martial", Kirk walks into the bar with
McCoy and sees a few people he knows (but not *all* of them by any
means), and he says hello to them and comments "I see our graduating
class at the academy is represented well here." - and most of those
shown were of about average Lt. commander or Commander - close enough
to Kirk's own rank of Captain, where there are very few captains.
(of Starships-fleet ships) anyway...


>In essence, I find your viewpoint startling and entertaining.  It is obvious
>that this view is not the one intended of StarFleet.  Yet you've arrived
>at a view of the Federation that is exactly the opposite of what was
>intended by the creator of the show, by putting a new spin on various
>elements of the show.  Yes, I do believe you've taken a few things out
>of context, but, then, that's what makes the viewpoint entertaining.

Agreed ;-)


>Mark Runyan  {r.a.s. random rationalizer}

-richard

-- 
Richard Muirden,                       | Also final year Computer Science
Systems Administrator (unpaid - gasp!) | Student, RMIT. Shostakovich Freak!!
mail: s892024@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU     - ram@lionet.wesley.OZ.AU
     My opinions are my own, not even Spock could work them out!!