I’ll be honest: the world looks tough right now.
Partisan political fighting, cantankerous global politics, dire climate change, and a frenzied media all make the world feel like a very unfriendly place. Technology is more powerful than ever; we’ve had the capacity for self-annihilation since the 40’s. So it’s worth asking the question: do you think we’ll make it?
What will our future will look like: Terminator or Star Trek?
I’m voting for Star Trek. And here’s why.
We agree upon what a hero looks like.
Go to any movie and you know who the good guys are. You want the bad Terminator to lose and Sarah Connor to win. We cry when the good Terminator self-destructs in order to save the world. We admire the characters who make the “right” choice: they go back for Newt, they fight the Corporation, they bring the Millennium Falcon back to win the battle, or they put themselves in a nuclear reactor to save a starship.
We identify the good guys by traits like honor, bravery, self-sacrifice, integrity and kindness. Something deep in our human soul says, “Yes, that’s how we should be!”
Recognizing these traits is not a 21st century phenomenon; older literature shows the same themes. So does the Bhagavad Gita. And as long as most of humanity recognizes and agrees upon what elevated human behavior looks like, we have a north star to steer towards.
Frankly, we’re pretty clumsy as a species. We screw up, we fall back, we forget, we wimp out. But – and this is the important part – we continue to try. The world is a better place than it was a hundred years ago. Civil rights, gay rights, better medicine, less violence (though you may not know it to watch the news). Slow as it may be, we are making progress. And we must carry on.
Every day that you act a little more like John McClane and a little less like Hans Gruber is a day that you can count yourself a hero of your own story. Your small acts matter. And we need these small acts more than ever. Every heroic choice that you make – and every heroic act that you admire – is a step towards a future where the good guys win.
Vote for Star Trek.
