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[QUOTE]Originally posted by OnToMars: [QB] [QUOTE]Originally posted by Shik: [qb] Y'all are kind of missing the point here. Things like "politics" & "religion" are staples of THIS culture & none other. [/qb][/QUOTE]On the contrary, politics and religion are at the very heart of any culture. They are the fundamental beliefs and attitudes from which the rest of societies and cultures grow. I've likewise been fascinated by what Shik describes. First by starships, then Starfleet as an organization, then the Earth and the Federation as a whole. I have long meant (and in a recent bout of sort-of-insomnia, begun) to write out a whole treatise on the Star Trek utopian ideal - what it is or might be exactly and how it might be achieved. I am a liberal progressive - I believe this world (and country) has problems, but that these problems are solvable and are capable of being solved. That is humanity's success; it's enormous success at problem solving. So if the goal is to create a society where there is no hunger, poverty, prejudice, corruption, crime, injustice, disease, want, or greed - a society where everyone receives the help they need and has the opportunity to live their life in a way that will make them fulfilled and happy, my question is then, "How do we get there?" And, "What will it look like?" I intend to spend my life figuring that out. I've just read an excellent book called, "The First Idea" which puts forth a theory about emotional and intellectual development in children and how this developmental path might relate to the development of society and civilization. Sadly, for those of us who try to model ourselves on the Vulcan ideal, the book postulates that intelligence is an extension or outgrowth of emotions. The authors say our minds progress in a way something akin to, "WANT!" to "Want this!" to "I want this." to "How can I get this?" to "Why do I want this?" to "What is it about this thing that makes it so desirable?" They go on to talk about this process proceeds from a polarized to a graduated thinking, from LOVE/HATE and JOY/DESPAIR to many, many nuanced and layered emotions ranging a gamut that produce introspection and reflection in varying degrees. When applied to groups, the pattern holds, with groups being relatively stable or unstable depending on the emotional development of its members and the group as an entity. In order to segue back into my original train of thought, I'd kinda have to keep going for awhile, so I'll end there and leave it at just a quick overview. But it's helped me think about these issues, and I can kind of intuit how they relate to each other, though I'm not sure I can put it to words just yet... Anyway, it's very interesting reading that I recommend, especially if you're looking at getting a better grasp on the nuts and bolts of these bigger issues. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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