Is Star Trek still relevent??

[Janeway Forever]

I was driving to work today, and for some reason this random question popped into my head: Is Star Trek still relevant in our world today?

I think Star Trek is still relevent for many reasons. For one, it teaches patriotism. Starfleet officers are loyal to the institution which they represent. It isn't the same sense of patriotism, since Earth is no longer broken down into countries, but there is still a lesson to be learned.

The other big thing I believe is it gives hope. In a world with so many factions of people with differing views, there's something to be learned in commonality. In the Star Trek world, people are able to put aside their petty differences to see the bigger picture. This allows them to see all they share in common and to make moves towards peace.

What do you guys think?

[DDL]

I completely agree. I think Star Trek, no matter how outdated it may get, will always have universal values that can apply to anyone or any time. I recall from Future's End that at one point Rain commented to Tom that she'd never met anyone quite like him in the sense that he wasn't in things for himself, he saw the bigger picture (as you pointed out). Star Trek illustrates and contrasts basic human traits such as greed, selfishness, revenge, mercy, humility, and honor. As long as we're still human, as long as we experience the ongoing struggles against good and evil, Star Trek will continue to hold true as an unfettered depiction of these qualities at their best and at their worst.

[Janeway Forever]

Yes, but I think the thing that makes Trek so inspiring is that the good traits always seem to defeat the bad. In a jaded, negative world, Star Trek is a slightly-corny-sometimes-but-nonetheless-beacon of hope. It inspires us to be what we are capable of being.

[DDL]

Well, Star Trek doesn't always give us the feel-good, clear cut episodes either. While Course: Oblivion wasn't really a fight between good and evil, it still focused more on giving the viewer something to think about than the "oh yay, they survived" ending it could have had. Or take Repentance, for example. The guy really was good, he had just had a brain problem. Still, mental illness or not, he had to take personal responsibility for his actions. Yes, he was good. Yes, he conquered his evil tendencies through the Doctor's help. Did good "win" so that he was still able to be alive? No, but it won in the sense that he had repented and changed his ways.
So I think Star Trek works on a lot of different levels, and good doesn't always 100% win. But it wins where it's most important, where values and honor truly matter. And I think it's the different messages that Star Trek gives, through whatever plot twists it can deliver, that truly epitomize what Star Trek is about and why it continues to be popular.

[lauren05]

I think it is *absolutely* still relevant. If nothing else, it's relevant as a kind of model for us to try to shape the world around. I know today things are pretty screwed up, and I know some (ok, more than some) of the technology and concepts are impossible, but gosh...even just the ethics of Trek. The concepts of equality, of less emphasis on materialism and greed, of wanting to do the right thing...if we could spread those around, I think that would be great.
A lot of the time when people find out I like Star Trek they're like "omg, how dorky", and then they wonder (and I think are jealous) how I get good grades, study complex things. I just always say that Star Trek makes you smarter ;D
In a way, though, I think it's true. The emphasis on knowledge and learning definitely encouraged me in my academic endeavors. That's great Trek concept that we need more of, especially now.

[Mel]

Okay, so I am going to add to this discussion and ask the question, which I have been asking myself lately. Is Star Trek still revelent in your life. I know that I have sadly become less obsessed with Star Trek. For some reason I feel guilty about this like I let the franchise down. I don't watch the episodes like I use to and I don't post on here as much as I used to. I find that I think about Trek often and have been saying in the back of my mind I need to work on getting it back in my life more. What about you??

[Mara Wildman]

I also sometimes feel as if I'm letting the franchise down. It's not that I don't like Star Trek anymore... I'm just an adult with more --dare I say it-- important things to do. And there's so much more to be a fan of, too. Stuff that's happening now instead of re-watching shows that ended eight or more years ago (which we've seen eight or more times, haha). Once I got into Doctor Who it slowly started to outshine Star Trek as a main definition of my geekiness. It took a few years, but I finally realized it sometime recently.

Yes, I do still admire Star Trek as a part of who I am (even right now I'm drinking out of a Star Trek tumbler I was given for Christmas). I would even consider Star Trek as the foundation of my geekiness.

• Star Trek got me interested in astronomy, which in turn got me interested in quantum (and other) sciences.
  
  
• Star Trek is where my story writing ability really improved. Even though, for personal reasons, I'm not allowed to write fictional stories anymore, I wouldn't be as well off to be able to write for blogs and newsletters without it.
  
  
• I've learned a lot of my favorite words from science fiction. Most of them were from Star Trek. One was from Stargate Atlantis, but if it hadn't been for seeing Robert Picardo in an episode of Stargate SG-1 I would never have started watching Stargate Atlantis!
  
  
• Star Trek got me interested in science fiction, which is a huge part of my life whether I watch it, read it, write about it, talk about it, make music videos about it , or... I just exist .

So, no, I may not watch it very often or even think a lot about it anymore, but it still flows through my blood, empowering the geek I am to do whatever it is that I do best. Whether it's what I enjoy, what I do, who I befriend, or just being a geek and watching an entire season of some show in a day, I know that it's all thanks to Star Trek.
But even the foundation needs a bit of maintenance every now and then .

Wow. I totally wrote that like a blog entry .

EDIT: Oddly, I just remembered that I had a Star Trek dream last night . I only remember that it started with me seeing someone play some PC game with the Borg and then it became the actual scenario of the dream. I remember seeing VOY's Doctor there, too. ;D

[Mel]

I think alot of what you said relates to my life also. It is really hard now that I am married to just come home from work and sit and watch Voyager. I either have to do it when Nate is working or when it is late at night and he is sleeping. I did get Nate to watch Voyager and he liked it, but he isn't the type of person to watch things over.

I do owe alot to Star Trek also, if it weren't for the Star Trek books I wouldn't have gotten into reading again. When I was in high school I hated reading, and when I saw that they had Voyager books I started reading. At first I only read Voyager books, then I started to pick up fantasy and slowly I started reading general fiction and classic fiction. I am so thankful that Star Trek got me back into reading because I have read so many wonderful books since then.

Why cant you write fictional stories any more Mara?