Paul Gadzikowski

Coupla interesting discussions going on in startrek today.

• The Prime Directive: Star Trek's biggest flaw
• Religion in Star Trek

I even had a new thought.

In the religion discussion, the LJer who made both initial posts suggested that Bread and Circuses is one of the few Star Trek episodes, any series, that promotes freedom of religion. In an earlier, but lower on the page, comment on this post, I had described Bread and Circuses as a, or the, episode which demonstrates that Kirk does indeed honor the Prime Directive, at least when his ship's not being threatened*. Now I wrote:

I don't really see that this episode either supports or maligns religion, or freedom of religion. Yes, Christianity is a religion, but when Kirk says, "Caesar - and Christ. They had both. But only now is the word beginning to spread," he's not thinking of it as a religion but as a historical force.

In fact, it occurs to me as I write, in that way this episode fails to be the pro-noninterference story which I applaud in my comment immediately below; because, even though Kirk abides by the rules, in the end - just like in any episode when Kirk does feel compelled to violate the noninterference directive - we're left with the subliminal message that these people will be all right because now they'll turn out Just Like Us. In fact, in this one, it's even more insidious because they'll do that without Kirk forcing it on them in self-defense.

Whoa. TOS: Still giving you new things to think about after forty years.

* In which case it's not a less advanced society anyway, is it?