23rd Century Optimism

If you’re anything like me you might be finding the idea of a Star Trek like future filled with discovery, exploration and, well, optimism, somewhat far away.

Every day brings a new scandal to light. Conspiracy theories birthed on internet forums are given credibility, governments clash with their people, and we are told to live in fear while our friends, brothers, and sisters are stigmatized, marginalized, and murdered.

“Boldly going” anywhere in particular right now seems a long ways off. Even the comparatively dark and gritty Kelvin Timeline seems distant.

 

It’s hard to stay as optimistic as our Denobulan doctor suggests, but something I read in the Spring 2017 issue of Star Trek magazine has given me a new way to look at things and I thought I might share that with you.

In an interview with Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) she was asked whether she felt that America had moved backwards since Gene Roddenberry’s initial vision, in response she said the following:

It wasn’t a step backwards, it was an identification, that what Gene Roddenberry was talking about was the truth. We’re a very, very, careless nation.

And in response to Donald Trump’s campaign and the protests that followed, she said this of the protesters:

Instead of making it worse, it made them better.

I had to think about that for a moment.

The pervasiveness of racism, sexism, and classism within our country and abroad was a revelation to many who had been previously sheltered from these societal undercurrents, and I count myself among those sheltered. But instead of looking away and distancing themselves from the troubles of their fellow human beings — People took action, and in effect, the good people became better. I had not heard it phrased that way, and it has dramatically shifted my perspective. That’s not to say I believe it’s time to have a seat and pat our selves on the back remarking what good people we’ve become.

I think we can still have the future Star Trek promised us. I think most of us want that future, and I think that now is finally the time that most of us (rather than a subset of the population) are outraged (or even scared) enough to take steps to make that happen. Deliberately, consciously.

Things have arguably not been that great lately, but I believe that by and large, the pile of bad things in the universe has not grown immeasurably, at least certainly not to the extent we might feel at times, it has simply been uncovered. In uncovering it, however, by bringing all of that hidden, quiet racism and sexism out into the open and shining a great big spotlight on it—the rest of us have chosen to become better. The pile of good things has responded and grown exponentially, perhaps to become what it should have been all along.

I recommend checking out the rest of the interview, especially if you’re a fan of Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, and early Star Trek history. This issue also features an article about women in Trek that’s worth checking out.

You can buy the issue itself or subscribe to the whole magazine from Titan Magazines here:

http://titanmagazines.com/t/star-trek/us/60/

It’s probably at stores and stuff too, I have no idea how magazines function out in the wild these days..

 

Quoted excerpts from:

Gardner, Chris. “Anything Is Possible.” Star Trek Magazine Mar. 2017: 18-23. Print.