Trek Philosophy: This rung true for me in regards to the war.

[lildreamer316]

On the episode of TNG; Picard says to Crusher:"Beverly, the Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History's proved, again and again, that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are disastrous."

Yes; I may get flamed for the perceived inference that a particular civilization we are in conflict with is "less developed"; but I really don't think that is an unrealistic assesment.
I just thought it was interesting.......

[physioex]

1. Oh I completely agree......

Funny how much of what we learnt on Star Trek that is almost twenty years old is true. Not to mention the original series which was also right on.

[Tiggeroshii]

2. That's not twenty years old!

Star Trek TNG came out in.. oh..

1989?

When Star Trek 4 debuted, huh?

I'm beginning to feel old. Or actually, I'm about as old as it, but it doesn't seem like it. Something I grew up with ya know? Memories..

[physioex]

3. Earlier than 89.....

Think it was 87.......

[bananas]

4. The Prime Directive was in the original series in the 1960's

which was 40 years ago.

I just looked up "Prime Directive" on wikipedia and was startled by this:

The Prime Directive was not actually written into law until some years after the formation of the Federation — in the Original Series episode "A Piece of the Action", an early Federation ship visits a primitive planet and leaves behind several items which alter the planet's culture significantly (as did the book Chicago Mobs of the Twenties, which the inhabitants quickly seized upon as a blueprint for their entire society).

Well this administration seems to be using Orwell's 1984 as a blueprint,
another case of Star Trek predicting the future!

In real life, the creation of the Prime Directive is generally credited to Gene L. Coon, although there is some contention as to whether science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon, who wrote of the Prime Directive in an unused script for the original series, actually came up with it first. (In fact, the Prime Directive appears fully-formed as much as two decades earlier in Robert A. Heinlein's 1948 novel Space Cadet, which describes a military organization very similar to Star Trek's Starfleet). The Prime Directive closely mirrors the zoo hypothesis explanation for the Fermi paradox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_directive

So the Prime Directive actually goes back to 1948, almost 60 years ago.

[Hekate]

5. The best sci-fi writers have always been good students of anthropology

The Prime Directive is just one of the best-known instances. Disobeying the PD brings you into the realm of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

I understand where the OP was going with this, I think. We don't have to posit Iraq as a "less developed civilization" -- especially since that region is known as the Cradle of Civilization -- for either the Law of Unintended Consequences or the Prime Directive to apply.

Our government -- that is, Bush-Cheney-Rummy-Rove -- got us into this mess by willfull ignorance and sheer pig-headedness. They really had no idea what they were stepping into and they refused all coherent and informed advice. Now we're in a desert version of Vietnam, roundly despised by the very people we told our troops we would be helping.

I appreciate the Star Trek reference, btw. I loved the old black and white version -- it was pioneering tv. People of a certain age will remember television's very first interracial kiss was on Star Trek; but everything they did was rooted in written SF that had been well-developed over the preceding two generations.

Hekate

[Tiggeroshii]

6. Good lord.. n/t

[Cleita]

9. That was the creator, Gene Roddenberry's genius.

Even though the Starfleet was run according to military principles, they had evolved into explorers and peacekeepers.

[physioex]

11. Ohh...I love the show.....

I think it is a very advanced concept, but some argue that is also a bit idealistic. That there is no dark side to our technological pursuits.

[Cleita]

12. There was in the show a dark side to technological pursuits.

There were a few shows that indicated that traveling at warp speed was changing the fabric of the universe and they had to address it. It's been awhile and I don't remember the details but I think if you can access all the shows you will find it.

[physioex]

13. LMAO.....

Ofcourse I remember that episode. I think all ships were restricted to warp 5 unless of emergencies.

[Ezra the Prankster]

7. I'd just like to add...

...That whoever said TV has nothing to do with real life is fooling themselves. TV, or movies, or theatre, or literature, succeeds by being understandable to human audiences. Fiction isn't fiction at all, it's simply highly condensed reality projected onto a hypothetical situation. The best science fiction writers aren't just anthropolgists, they're prophets!

[Cleita]

8. The prime directive was more than that. It was about not

interfering with any civilization, no matter how different than ours, and no matter how hard it may be not to.

[lovuian]

10. As a devoted Trekie

It has always been easier to destroy that to create" -- Spock