In our house, we have finally begun our Journey through the Star Trek universe. For me it's a delight to rediscover old characters I loved when I was young, and to catch up with the latest series and stories.
But this is for my kids, who are at an age now when they are more capable of understanding the layers and deeper meanings of Star Trek explorations, conflicts, and brilliantly hidden human experiences.
As we watch, I can't help myself from comparing my feelings in the past versus the feelings I have now. 30+ years ago I felt excitement, amazing intellectual joy, and a matching sense of infinite curiosity. Now, as I observe the world unravel under the design and influence of god-like psychopaths, the feelings are different.
While I respect my sons' individual experience which is very similar to the experience I had as a young human, my brain cannot pretend that all is well.
The world did not choose the direction of a peaceful and wise civilization, but rather it has succumbed and surrendered to an insane elite, incapable of compassion, driven by a voracious appetite for power to control and design humanity's destiny, and bound by no rules, no morals, no scruples.
For some, in more economically advanced countries, it all may seem like progress. Better medicine, better cars, better vacations. However, that's not progress, that is convenience.
While we have made tremendous technological advances in science, we have also overwhelmingly divested social programs at the expense of trillions of dollars in military spending every year. That is not progress, that is predatory behavior.
While we churn out more PhDs than ever before and we entertain ourselves with pointless gossip and Hollywood blockbusters, we also can easily be absolutely fine while watching genocides happening just a click and a swipe away. That is not progress, that is moral decadence.
While we publish more books, documentaries, movies, music, articles, podcasts, and all sorts of media than EVER before, we reduce all of this digital noise into a like and a share within the depths of social media virtual echo chambers. If we by any chance engage with each other, we eventually reduce our online conversations to uninformed debates, unwarranted loyalties to one doctrine or another, and often blatant displays of hate and prejudice towards others. At best, we cluster in small groups where we can all agree with each other by excluding and vilifying all the rest. That is not progress, that is a nosedive into the abyss of isolation.
While we have access to infinitely more knowledge about humanity and about our planet, and we possess the tools to instantly connect with each other across oceans and continents, our lives burn out fueled by greed, eroding trust in one another, and an exhausting sense of rush through time - a rush that gives no room for a slow walk in the woods, holding hands while watching clouds go by, the kindness of a welcoming hug, or for the moments we dive into each other's eyes. We can connect our digital life and avatar to all, and yet touch the real lives of none. This is not progress, it is a profound and tragic loss of humanity in favor of a cold, indifferent, and perpetually un-satisfied existence of consumerism.
Star Trek offered a glimpse not into the Universe, but into the other inner worlds surrounding us every moment. It offered not a way to travel away from home, but possible paths to reach each other and make “togetherness” - our home.
We must be mindful of our fall.
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