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Normally I go with "Space... The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."
Because yes, to go out and find the new and see afresh is something I want to do and inspires me.
But recently, I've been thinking about the bit in "The Measure of Man" (or, "Data is not a toaster") where Picard says:
"Now, the decision you reach here today will determine how we will regard this... creation of our genius. It will reveal the kind of a people we are, what he is destined to be; it will reach far beyond this courtroom and this... one android. It could significantly redefine the boundaries of personal liberty and freedom - expanding them for some... savagely curtailing them for others. Are you prepared to condemn him and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery? Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life; well, there it sits! - Waiting."
Because right now, we have people trying to tell us that other people are "not us". And I think we need to say that people are "us" unless there's some pretty strong evidence that they're not. Different language, different faith, different way of coming into their present state, none of that makes people "not us".
( The other days under the cut )
Because yes, to go out and find the new and see afresh is something I want to do and inspires me.
But recently, I've been thinking about the bit in "The Measure of Man" (or, "Data is not a toaster") where Picard says:
"Now, the decision you reach here today will determine how we will regard this... creation of our genius. It will reveal the kind of a people we are, what he is destined to be; it will reach far beyond this courtroom and this... one android. It could significantly redefine the boundaries of personal liberty and freedom - expanding them for some... savagely curtailing them for others. Are you prepared to condemn him and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery? Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life; well, there it sits! - Waiting."
Because right now, we have people trying to tell us that other people are "not us". And I think we need to say that people are "us" unless there's some pretty strong evidence that they're not. Different language, different faith, different way of coming into their present state, none of that makes people "not us".
( The other days under the cut )
