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"Why We Can't Just All Get Along..." |
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"Why We Can't Just All Get Along..." |
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All the members of Starfleet International's listserv have seen it hundred times: someone makes a comment, someone else gets offended, and a huge flamewar erupts. Eventually, people will plead with the offenders to stop it and get on with rescuing Starfleet from the chaos left behind from the McGinnis administration. And, oftentimes, someone will quote Rodney King and ask "Why can't we all just get along?". That would be nice, but it isn't going to happen soon, if at all. The problem lies with human nature. Very few times (if at all) has the course of history been changed by peaceful means. More often than not, a change is violent. The American Revolution, the American Civil War, the French Revolution, the Bolshevik revolution, World Wars I and II are just a few examples from just the past century and a half. We can go back even further, back to the earliest recorded history of mankind. Even the Judeo-Christian Bible, especially the Old Testament, is filled with wars and battles. If you look at the root cause of most wars, you find something interesting. Most (if not all) wars are started because some person (or country, or faction, or whatever) wants to impose his (or her) will on a group of people that refuse to bow to said person, and usually the most expedient means are taken: total subjugation through military might. There are those that resist this, so they must fought and exterminated, thus a war begins, and the winner is the one who determines what happens next. An old saying goes "History is written by the victor", and sadly, it is all too very true. "O.K." you're saying, "that's all well and good, but what does that have to do with the listserv?". Actually, a lot. Starfleet is international, and therefore is naturally diverse. Starfleet can be considered (by virtue of it's diversity) to be a microcosm of the world at large, and as such there's bound to be conflict, as peoples personalities clash with others. Their diverse backgrounds, ideas, and opinions will always be contrary to somebody else's, and it will show on the listserv. You will say " but that's not what Gene's dream is about"...you're right, it's not. Gene wanted (and showed us) a future that was quite rosy, where all mankind "outgrew" the petty bickering and warmongering that have plagued us, and worked as whole toward each individual's betterment. Poverty is non-existant, war amongst ourselves is gone, and everyone is happy, peaceful, and enlightened. Is this a nice future? Yes, it is. Is this a realistic future? No, unfortunately not. This may seem harsh, but that's the way things are, and will most likely be (as long as we don't Nuke
ourselves into oblivion). However, there is a greater (and more important) question we should be
asking "Does this mean we stop trying for peace, since it will never happen?" Absolutely NOT.
We SHOULD aspire to rise above our insecurities, overlook our differences, and accept each
other, totally. However, don't expect it to happen anytime soon.
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