In the face of adversity, when all seems hopeless, there are two paths: We can give up and travel further down the road of despair, grow distant from our dreams, jaded and inflexible, thus live out an existence guided by doubt. As we age, some chalk up bitterness to a form of “wisdom”. We turn inward and turn off our emotions to protect ourselves from more pain, heartache, and disappointment. We descend into a mental realm that [for some] can become a feeling that doesn’t pass. The neural pathways in our brains become accustomed to this, so we reside in this space because somehow we have convinced ourselves that in futility there is comfort.
On the other side of that fork is the road of optimism, which is a choice. There, upon licking our wounds and self-reflection, we can eventually and hopefully commit to bettering ourselves and the world we live in. As I’ve learned, how we deal with life’s many hurdles is influenced by our circumstances. Sometimes it’s our peers, media, and during this uncertain age, our reality that challenges our ability and even our desire to believe that there is something better in the future. As we navigate these complex mental burrows of dealing with our circumstances, we may feel our footprint in this world is microscopic, thus irrelevant.
The road to Star Trek’s utopia is a hard one. In essence, it begins with humanity rising from the ashes of a nuclear war. From there, the need to be more compassionate and the awareness of our own species’ frailty and shortcomings pushes us to truly start meeting our potential. We overcome our petty differences and finally learn from the mistakes in the past. Eventually, after first contact with the Vulcans, humanity joined a network of other celestial species, finally resulting in the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Now, from there all is not always fine, as there are various conflicts outside our small planet. However, at this point, humanity is depicted as graduating from its previous state. After near extinction at our own hands, we strive to do better. We made that choice. The result is the spark that fuels Star Trek – It is optimism.
Like many of you, I am disappointed in the results of the recent election in the United States. Scrolling through my social media inspired this entry. I want to take a moment and empathize with everyone who has been let down. It is alright to feel anxious and very concerned. My thoughts are with you and I share in this collective pain. Indeed, things look even more grim.
I fear that at this very critical time, we have once again sidelined the most important things such as the state of our planet, the lives and welfare of people abroad, and the basic need to acknowledge the rights and dignity of everyone regardless of gender, faith, race, and political ideology. Regardless of your political affiliation, we cannot always hang our hats on politicians, as it takes the best of all of us to truly make progress. Our everyday actions matter in that regard, so our own footprint must not be discounted.
We must look to one another and not always towards whoever sits in the Oval Office, although it helps to have more ideal and sane people in power. While the agents of darkness will cloud our path and try to determine our destiny, it matters more than ever how we not look up to someone, but how we look around at each other. A better world starts with us from the ground up. It does not always trickle down, as goodwill and good deeds must usually make a more difficult journey upstream.
Many in the world and not just in America are grappling with a diminishing faith in their institutions. It is difficult to be optimistic when we see the rise of authoritarian regimes that wish to have unchecked power. This has sent modern liberal democracies scrambling on how to counteract this. The current hard right trend which is now resonating globally does not espouse the ideals of Star Trek. It is a movement that is sending us back into the dark ages, normalizing global atrocities, inequity, and profit over all else; the ingredients to have many of us feeling dispirited and exhausted.
The first duty of a Starfleet Officer is to uphold the truth, which is becoming harder and harder to find and who will tell it. As someone in this community, I may see things a little differently than most Americans. I see our shared aspirations and values one day possibly superseding the very notion of the nation-state, and yes even the one I call home. That is a bridge too far right now, but bear in mind that social and political evolution one day may call for that if we are to move closer to Roddenberry’s vision. For now, we have to focus on the current conditions, of course. We are far from a United Earth, so for many of us our energy is invested into the United States.
In “Star Trek: Discovery”, even the crew had fundamental problems in the 32nd century, tasked with rebuilding the Federation following The Burn. It is a reminder that even the greatest things in the universe are vulnerable to collapse. Rather than ignore the state of the Federation, Michael Burnham and her crew set out to salvage and return the Federation to its glory, back to a galactic alliance that seeks to harmoniously bring the universe together. As we know, this took a few [television] seasons to address and ultimately accomplish. The remains of the U.F.P. sought to rebuild coalitions and ironically had to convince Earth to rejoin! All of this was only possible because they believed in the principles of the Federation, as we in the 21st century should uphold the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and decency. Without a core belief in something, we are without those very institutions that are there to sustain and better our lives.
We must have faith in our endeavors, but it’s also a fight that entails risk. As I sit here playing Monday Morning Quarterback on why the Democratic Party failed this time, personally among my critiques was a lack of taking some risks. If we don’t take the plunge and truly and unequivocally denounce the evils of the world, if we choose the safe path, we jeopardize the mission: The mission is to win perhaps not just here, but for the sake of humanity. At this dire juncture, I see an opportunity to pick up the pieces and retool, as opposed to abandoning hope. We can build a new starship, better equipped, armed, faster, and commanded by one with the vision to succeed.
Did Kirk let those Klingons that killed his son in STIII get away with it? Did he let Kruge and his cronies stop him and his friends from saving Spock? No, of course not! He said, “I swear to you we’re not finished yet.”, and then lured the Klingons on board the Enterprise and blew up the ship! After famously laying a foot into Kruge’s face and sending him over the cliff, Kirk and crew took over the Bird of Prey and made it to Vulcan just in time for supper and to witness the resurrection of all resurrections. They did all this despite Starfleet, the Klingons, and the loss of David Marcus and the Enterprise. Risk is their business and it should be ours too. I prefer risk and a good fight over surrendering to the Klingons, the Borg, or other adversaries any day.
Some might say that to still care is a risk in itself. It very well might be. The odds seem stacked against us. However, we must be vulnerable to failure and making mistakes. That is how we learn. Historically, progress has experienced setbacks and isn’t always linear. We must remember that our commitment and care towards any cause should not be just for change within our lifetimes, as it is also for the long haul; for a time after we’re gone.
I don’t say these things because they can easily be willed into existence. When I mention choosing to be optimistic, I want to be very cautious about being blindly optimistic. My antidote to that is that I see the people around me: What fuels my optimism and the need to share this sentiment is you. I believe in grounded and informed optimism, but when things are bad, which they are, I face that, as well. That said if you are reading this, most likely you’re a Star Trek fan. This community has some of the best minds and hearts that humanity has to offer and that’s a lot of people when you step back and acknowledge how vast this family is. Even if you’re not a fan, I know there are enough stars in the darkness to carry on the fight. That’s all I need to be informed.
Constant change is the nature of the universe. The change we want may not come in four or four hundred years, but things do change. We don’t know until we try. Anything can happen. Our actions today do matter and will carry ripples for generations to come. Even inaction has a consequence. Something as simple as how we go about our daily lives and care for each other is just as important as participating in democracy.
Star Trek is about the future, so it must also mean it’s about our very own posterity and most importantly, our children. I’m not a parent, but I’ve thought about what I would say to a child who wants to know what’s going on. They need our guidance. They require some sort of guarantee that we care about them. If you cannot find it in yourself to still hope and dream, then I ask you, what about our children and the younger generation? Someday they’re going to inherit this mess. I’d rather they be raised by adults who will be honest with them, but also avoid perpetuating cancerous cynicism. We all have a moral obligation, if not to ourselves than to somebody else. I believe that’s what Gene Roddenberry would want. He would look toward…..the next generation.
We’ll be reviewing new cadets soon. In the meantime, take time to absorb this moment. Take the time to care for yourself and those around you. When all hands are ready and a new resolve is collectively embraced, that new ship could take us somewhere better, even if it takes a while. The choice is ours should we decide to board her.
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