Newsgroup: it.fan.startrek
Titolo: Prime Directive

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/35606.html
Consider the "prime directive," which says that the Federation is not to
interfere with alien cultures. For the most part, the Star Trek crew tries
to abide by the prime directive of cultural freedom, but there's been many
an episode where the ideal of individual liberty required their
interference.
Last weekend, hundreds of die-hard fans gathered at the Star Trek
convention in Las Vegas to see the stars and mingle with other
sci-fi-minded folks. Costumes and attitudes aptly demonstrated their
commitment to the Star Trek philosophy, which has many similarities to
American ideals.
When asked to explain the key aspects of the Star Trek philosophy, a man
who could easily pass for Deep Space Nine's Captain Sisko told me, "Star
Trek is about hope -- it is about hope for the future." Perhaps this is not
a surprising comment, given that the show is based on overcoming challenges
in space, but it's also a reflection of the American character.
Compared with other countries, our history is short. This tends to produce
a culture that looks to the future, not the past, to define itself. America
was founded by people who were explorers or simply looking for a new start
in a new land. Star Trek also looks to the future, of course, going boldly
where no one has gone before.
The culture that explorers brought to America is reflected in the nation's
mantra of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That freedom to
define one's way of life, so long as it doesn't harm others, is also
central to much of Star Trek's moral message.
For example, consider the "prime directive," which says that the Federation
is not to interfere with alien cultures. For the most part, the Star Trek
crew tries to abide by the prime directive of cultural freedom, but there's
been many an episode where the ideal of individual liberty required their
interference.
Consider, for instance, "The Apple," in which the Enterprise discovers a
planet whose people are living in what appears to be paradise. But it only
lasts so long as they serve their god, Vaal, with blind obedience. Spock
defends the society in a somewhat relativist way, but Kirk and Bones
recoil. They work to destroy the controlling Vaal, and after succeeding,
Kirk says, "That's what we call freedom -- you'll like it a lot." Some
people might interpret the Iraq war through the same type of lens.
On the one hand, there's the argument that America the superpower should
just leave other nations to do what they will with their people. On the
other hand, it seems horrific to sit idly by and watch as millions of men,
women and children are terrified and slaughtered by their leaders.
If debating the Iraq war were an episode on The Original Series, one might
expect Spock to say that the Federation should simply close off America to
Middle Easterners, given that they now pose a threat to security Relevant
Products/Services from IBM eServer xSeries Systems. Kirk and Bones would
object and note that cocooning America and leaving Iraq as it is would harm
the freedoms of both peoples.
Unlike other countries that came together out of ethnicity or historical
accident, America was a country founded on ideas, a key one being that all
humans are created equal. This belief is reflected in Star Trek through
scripts that tell the audience that differences among species should be
tolerated, as everyone has an equal right to exist. This idea was apparent
at the Las Vegas convention, where tolerance of all things strange was
prevalent.
Attendees dressed up as Warf, Data, the Borg, Q, Seven of Nine, Captain
Kirk, Scotty, Councilor Troy and others. Many of them were in full
character, and they interacted with one another as their characters did on
the show. For instance, when I asked one particular Ferengi how his Latinum
stockpile was coming along, he told me he didn't discuss "such matters with
females."
He was, of course, referring to Ferengi rule number 94, which says that
"females and finances don't mix." In the "live and let live" spirit of the
event, I couldn't help but smile. In the welcome message to the Star Trek
convention, the organizers asked attendees to "imagine if the world was
taught the Star Trek philosophy how much better off we'd all be." It's hard
to disagree.
If the world were filled with forward-looking people who embrace liberty
and individual difference with a creative flare, it would indeed be a much
better place.
Jolan Tru
-- 
Filippo "Hytok" Simone - L'oracolo sampdoriano di Sunnydale
La Casa degli Elfi 
http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/hyterdeflok/
Commissione Voyager 
http://www.voyageritalia.com/
http://www.ussexcalibur.it/


ha scritto:
<snip>
Grande album del Dave Holland Quintet, ECM, 2000.
-- 
darmok.and.jalad@tanagra