Although I have a good experience of watching and therefore appreciating Star Trek as the sci-fi and pop cultural icon it has been for so long, I'm not sure I can deliver the most inspiring or heartfelt blog post on the subject. Especially today, when everyone else in the world is in on the action--even Facebook is on the bandwagon, with its adorable reaction options (why a sad Geordi face, though? Neutral Data might've been better, or even an Emo Troi). I know for sure that the show has impacted many others' lives in far more profound ways that it has my own. It has spread earnest, positive inspiration about humanity's future over five decades in an apocalypse-obsessed, self-loathing world where an earnest, positive outlook is often derided as sophomoric and simplistic at best.
But perhaps, that is why Star Trek is so wonderful. It has reached into many different people's imaginations, at all levels of experience. Whether you've grown up with the Original Series and love its cheesiness (like my own mother) or you're only just now delving into The Next Generation and squeeing over its Shakespearean allegories (like myself), or you're a die-heard cosplay-at-a-Con superfan (like some folks I know), it has informed your perspective on humanity's potentials and pitfalls. And if you only know Star Trek by its iconic characters (I heard on a podcast somewhere that Spock is instantly recognizable by a crapload of humans, even if they've never watched the show), you know what it's all about. You've probably even flashed the Vulcan hand signal at least once in your life. That signal, BTW, was Leonard Nimoy's stroke of genius, and it was borrowed from Jewish tradition, which I think is way cool.
I adore Star Trek. It has always been fun to watch and I find myself very easily moved by the characters and the bizarre situations they encounter during their peregrinations throughout the galaxy. It may not get as dark or hard as some other sci-fi that I also adore (Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter), but it's often very philosophical and rich with allegories that we need to confront in society. It gives us role models with unshakeable integrity and humanizing faults. Star Trek holds up a mirror to our better selves and challenges us to live up to that reflection.
I, for one, am determined to face the challenge. 🖖
P.S. McCoy is my absolute favorite. Ever.
