Star Trek, its spawn and our society

Ron Moore, one of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica's executive producers and writers, recently wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times about how Star Trek has informed the way he views the world, and subsequently, his storylines for BSG. Similarly, the universal themes of exploring new worlds and (re)discovering humanity form the essence of what Stargate has offered viewers for the past decade, though in more subtle, "lighter" hues.

The full article is linked here - you'll need to register online (it's free) to read. Some excerpts:

Kirk, for me, embodied an American idea: His mission was to explore the final frontier, not to conquer it. He was moral without moralizing.

As I grew into adolescence, the show provided a handy reference against which to judge the questions that my young mind began to ask: What is the obligation of a free society toward the less fortunate? Does an “advanced” culture have the right to spread its ideas among more “primitive” ones? What does it mean to be human, and at what point do we lose our humanity to our technology?

And as I grew into an adult, and my political views took shape, I treasured “Star Trek” as a dream of what my country could one day become — a liberal and tolerant society, unafraid to live by its ideals in a dangerous universe, and secure in the knowledge that its greatness derived from the strength of its ideas rather than the power of its phasers.