As the U.S. presidential election on November 5 gets closer, Star Trek and other genre stars are planning a couple of virtual events to support the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Geeks & Nerds for Harris, hosted by Lynda Carter
On Tuesday, September 24, at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT, Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter is hosting a free virtual event to help activate the fan community into the Harris/Walz campaign. Along with co-organizer Sabrina Cartan, Carter will be welcoming actors, politicians, fans, and activists to help raise money for the Democratic campaign.
Here’s the description of the free three-hour event:
Fandom has never just been about media consumption. Fans are artists, creators, and digital ambassadors. When we share what we love, it radiates around the world. And to paraphrase the Vice President, it’s how we show them who we are.
By connecting battle-tested campaign canvassing strategies to the heritage and practices of fan communities, we can encourage fans to get out the vote in key battleground states. A celebration of stories and the people who love them most, we’re leaning into the final words of Kamala Harris’ historic speech at the DNC: Together, let’s write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.
Lynda and her sidekick Sabrina will host a 2-3 hour program featuring America’s geek icons and their fans. We’ll explore how the themes of these stories connect to the Harris-Walz ticket values of unity and fighting injustice.
So far, guests include George Takei, LeVar Burton, Jeri Ryan, Anthony Rapp, Robert Picardo, Felicia Day, Patty Jenkins, Yvette Nicole Brown, Stacey Abrams, Mark Hamill, Misha Collins, Jon Cryer, Matthew Modine, Bill Nye, and more to come. Sign up to attend here. Follow their Twitter/X account here for updates on newly added guests.
Women of Star Trek for Kamala, hosted by Stacey Abrams
Women from across the Star Trek franchise are uniting in a Zoom call to talk about why they’re supporting Kamala Harris and how to help. The event, coordinated by Kitty Swink and Marnie Mosimon, takes place on Thursday, October 3 at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT, and is described as follows:
Join us for an evening of inspiring conversations with Star Trek stars like Jeri Ryan, Denise Crosby, Michelle Hurd, Gates McFadden, Terry Farrell, and many more as we rally together to elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States. Plus, the event will be hosted by none other than Stacey Abrams, with special guest Senator Cory Booker and others to be announced.
The guest list also includes Nana Visitor, Kate Mulgrew, Catherine Hicks, Dawnn Lewis, Elizabeth Dennehy, Linda Park, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Mary Chieffo, Bonnie Gordon, Stephanie Czajkowski, Yetide Badaki, Kitty Swink, Chase Masterson, Martha Hackett, Meghan Gallagher, Jayne Brook, the SyFy Sistas, and more.
Get more information and register for the event here.
The SyFy Sistas already hosted a hype show for the event with Michelle Hurd, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, and organizers Kitty Swink and Marnie Mosiman:
Watch: Space Cadets for Harris event from August
On August 15th, a group of scientists, astronauts, Star Trek celebs, and more gathered for an online fundraiser to kick off Space Cadets for Harris, created by former NASA astronaut John Grunsfeld. Participants from the Star Trek world included Robert Duncan McNeill, Jeri Ryan, John Billingsley, Tim Russ, Mike Okuda, Michelle Hurd, and Robert Picardo. You can learn more about the group here, and watch the full discussion below.
Before you hit up the comments section…
You may not agree with the candidates being supported by these events; Star Trek fans are a diverse group of people with a wide range of opinions. Participants and supporters should not be harassed or belittled for expressing their opinions and campaigning for candidates and causes they believe in. Denise Crosby is already bemoaning the barrage of “insulting and disrespectful comments” on her post about her participation:
It’s so disheartening that I’ve received such insulting and disrespectful comments by my post to invite curious and like minded folks to a zoom event I’m taking part in. No need to hate on a different opinion! Talk less, listen more!
— Denise Crosby (@TheDeniseCrosby) September 17, 2024
Please be civil and respectful. Thank you.
Without getting political at all, I’ll just note my surprise at the participation of Lynda Carter, who to the best of my knowledge has always been pretty conservative.
Conservative, yes. Hateful and racist, no. Plus, she’s Wonder Woman, so fascism and domestic terrorism would never be something she’d back. So her choice makes sense.
Maybe she’s personally conservative…but I’ve only ever seen her post socially liberal political opinions.
Lynda Carter’s sister is running for a Republican position in Arizona, and Lynda is advocating people vote for the Democratic nominee instead. She is actively saying her sister is not the type of person who should hold any type of office.
Sounds like Tim Walz’s brother then….
That is so black and white it’s not even funny. Just because you do not support a candidate does not mean you do not support the party.
Well, she doesn’t support the republican party either. She supports neither the GOP nor her sister holding any type of office.
Thanksgiving and Christmas must be awkward at the Carter household. Family is more important than politics, I might endorse Harris, but would avoid endorsing my sister’s direct opponent.
George Bush sen and Arnold Schwarzenegger were both conservatives but good guys at the same time. There’s nothing wrong with conservatism. The orange menace however is NOT conservative. He simply is an enemy of humanity.
George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger are not conservatives, they are Republicans. The two are not the same.
Yes they are. The problem is there are several variants of each and people confuse them
and arnie has no time for the likes of trump
You don’t remember how much Bush was attacked for being an evil fascist, do you.
That’s the crazy thing, Bush was deemed outright evil by most Democrats back in the day. Even I miss Bush today compared to the psychopath Donald Trump. Bush at least cared about people, respected the office and never whined about anything. He always came off as just a decent person. And he didn’t make it about himself. No President never has the way Trump has and another reason he should never be President again. It’s just about him and trying to stay out of Prison. That’s it.
And while I thought Bush was a bad President and disagreed with his policies, I actually always liked him as a person. I could never say that in any of the circles I was in at the time lol, but it was true. With Trump, I’m disgusted by everything he does and says. He’s not just an awful President, he’s an even more awful human being.
You gotta do some reading about Bush family and oil, going back to the 40s. Plus he was not some darling little angel running the CIA.
I was talking about George W Bush. And I’m not defending his actions I’m only saying he knew there was a line and never crossed it as President. Trump would pole vault over it if he could..
So you’re telling me that in about sixteen years you’ll be looking back fondly on Trump? :-)
Who knows? If in 16 years we are all hailing Great Leader Trump Jr. Jr. alá North Korea, then maybe I’ll look back fondly on the days when there was a glint of democracy left. Democracy is the bedrock for me. Personally, I found GWB reprehensible for what he did in Iraq and Nixon in Watergate, but they were institutionalists who knew there were some bright shining lines not to cross. IMHO, the current guy is all about himself. Your mileage may vary.
But enough of this politics, this a Trek website focusing on our future utopia (disregarding the Khan blip), so let’s be happy and get along. ; )
LOL I guarantee you that will not be happening. An assault on the US Capital? No, I will not be hailing the red headed hitler.
We probably will get someone worse sadly.
As I mentioned above, people today forget that Bush took office right around 9/11. The dude got screwed because he had absolutely nothing to do with it. If anything it was his father and to a lesser degree Clinton.
You might want to look at how many times word of an upcoming attack was communicated upstairs in the spring/summer of 01 — and also how some of those trying to get the word out were essentially kneecapped. Plus he had certainly seen the US study that involved all sorts of people in the late 90s (including David Fincher) that brainstormed all sorts of US-attacked scenarios. Have a real hard time nobody mentioned planes as missiles, ESPECIALLY since Tom Clancy had already used that in a 1994 Jack Ryan novel with a successful kamikaze attack on the Capital building.
Of course he was, back in the day. We were coming off of Clinton and a world where we actually had an economic surplus and had just entered the world of 9/11. That is not on Bush but he took the brunt of the hit.
Exactly this.
Not very surprising since there aren’t any conservatives running for president now.
Conservative and Republican are two very distinct entities’ these days. There are plenty of conservatives who understand that the Trump dumpster fire will only end badly for everyone and are responding appropriately.
I’ll just reply here to everyone who responded to my original post (and thanks for doing so). Yes, as someone who grew up in rock-ribbed Orange County, CA — still one of the most reliably Republican districts in the country — I fully understand the difference between MAGA and the genteel country-club Republicanism of my former neighbors and friends. But with notable exceptions, few of them are speaking out even though MAGA’s faux populism (to take one example) stands in stark contrast to everything traditional conservatism has stood for during my lifetime (and I’m 66 today). I fully commend those who have had the courage to stand up, including the Cheneys — now there’s a sentence I never expected to write, ever! — but until more do we’ll be in peril of ending our experiment in representative democracy, regardless of what happens in November.
Orange County is so “reliably Republican” that progressive Katie Porter represents much of it in Congress, to say nothing of Linda Sanchez. Yes, the districts of Young Kim and Michelle Steel (both Asian-American Republicans) also include parts of Orange County, but the idea that it’s the red monolith that it was in the 1980s is very much out of date. Just *when* it changed is open for interpretation, of course. Loretta Sanchez (Porter’s Democratic predecessor) got elected in 1997. It voted Republican at the presidential level until 2016, when it flipped, and it remained Democratic in 2020.
I’m aware of those (and Loretta Sanchez was for a time my heroine for displacing the detestable Bob Dornan, at least until she showed her own weakness for DoD cash). No doubt that things have changed, somewhat, since I grew up there in the ‘60s and ‘70s. But OC still mostly skews Republican; that’s just a fact.
It’s not “a fact”; in Orange County, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by about 8%. From the Orange County Registrar of Voters website’s data on registered voters (the data appears to be current as of today):
Democrats: 679,318
Republicans: 623,941
No party preference (NPP): 418,548
I suppose you could argue that the NPPs skew Republican, but there’s not much evidence for that. In 2016, Hillary won the county by about 8% (I suspect that, at the time, that margin outpaced the differential in voter registrations). Biden won it by about 9%. That data is roughly in line with the overall split and does not suggest a huge “shy Republican” camp among the NPPs.
Well, apparently your info. is more up-to-date than my own, so thanks. Truthfully, I’m startled, though perhaps I shouldn’t be; when I graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 1976 out of a student body of thousands you could count the POC on one hand, and the demographics have shifted hugely since then. (That said, from my recent visits I still gather that HB remains very conservative.)
I am glad someone voices this distinction. Can’t wait for the real conservatives to pick up the mic again.
I’m a lifelong Republican (first vote was for Reagan in ’84) who is appalled at the Party today.
Honestly this is all because of McConnell who bowed before the altar of Trump when he and he alone had the power to stand up against him.
Do you think he really did have the power? He certainly should have had the clout to have been able to do that, but look at the way nearly all of the reps bow and scrape and play the lickspittle to Trump.
Not sure where you got that impression. Lynda Carter and her late husband, Robert Altman, were longtime friends of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Altman’s law partner was Clark Clifford, who worked in the administrations of 4 Democratic Presidents (Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter). Lynda and her husband even hosted a Democratic National Commitee dinner in 1999.
Somehow I had the impression Lynda Carter was a Republican too. Not sure where that came from. Maybe she is an independent. Or maybe just got misinformation somewhere.
I can’t absolutely recall where I got that impression, tbh. Perhaps someone relayed it to me in error, I honestly can’t say, but thanks for the correction in any case.
That’s the problem. Trump is a RHINO. So many Conservatives are against him because he is against most things the real GOP believe in and he is tarnishing their name and their legacy.
If that’s the case then the institutionalists in the party need to show some backbone by standing up and saying so. Trump should have been finished for all time in the Republican Party as of January 6, 2021. That he was not is to the eternal shame of all those who have prioritized their careers and lust for power over a functional (if flawed) democratic process. As Liz Chaney stated, history will not judge them kindly.
I agree. The problem is McConnell. He backed Trump when he shouldn’t have.
I love being a fan of this franchise.
“Star Trek fans are a diverse group of people with a wide range of opinions.”
Yes, but hating your fellow human beings and actively supporting those “candidates and causes” that wish to take away their rights isn’t an “opinion” we should be tolerating. I don’t understand this need to spare the feelings of racists and fascists and people that have clearly given up on being human and showing empathy for others.
But isn’t this very post giving up on showing empathy for others? And the other side also believe that Harris wishes to take away the rights (for instance, the unborn’s right to live!)
So, if it’s incumbent on them to be empathetic for others- and not to discount *you* despite believing that you want to take away others’ rights- then it’s up to you to do the same vice-versa. (Which is what the pilot of SNW was all about- we can have diametrically opposing viewpoints, but we still need to live together; dismissing and contempt may seem like the ‘easy’ reactions- but they won’t ever solve anything, just lead to repeating cycles of violence.)
IDIC includes those guys whose views are reprehensible to you (and who find your views reprehensible), too.
If someone thinks you are subhuman and wants to create a world in which you are disenfranchised, enslaved, or eradicated, we owe them no empathy. How do you propose to win them back from their view that you are worthless and best removed from society? There is no way back for them.
So, you think they are subhuman, deserve no empathy, believe they are worthless and best removed from society?
In short, how are you different from them, except on the opposite side? If deciding they don’t deserve empathy and are beyond saving isn’t wrong for you to do to them, why is it an unpardonable crime for them to do to others?
Nothing will ever change as long as both sides say ‘well, I don’t have to show empathy to them, they don’t count.’ Especially when the other side saying that in the first place is exactly the crime for which the other side is being hated.
You may show empathy to Hitler’s ground troops once they are defeated, but how or why do you show empathy for the ‘final solution’ gang? C’mon now.
And if they also consider you to be the ‘final solution gang,’ so both of you postpone showing empathy to the other until the other side is ruthlessly defeated? Then all you have left is a scorched Earth and no survivors.
In an actual war, sure- you have to defeat the people trying to physically kill you first. And if actual war is what you want, with real people dying, that attitude will suffice.
But in a political situation, where you’re talking about the neighbors you have to live with whether you agree with them or not, just writing them off as the equivalent of Nazis (and they doing the same to you- unthinkable, because you’re ‘the good guys,’ how could anyone ever think that of you? But they think the same of themselves), and witholding any kind of civility or empathy until after they are ‘defeated’ just ensures that eventual war and destruction is the only possible resolution.
Let’s see does empathy rhyme better with Nagasaki or dresden?
Gotcha, just being a troll. Disregarding.
Trying another approach here, though probably useless. Try looking up ‘final solution’ and consider the specific context of my remark. The US/allied thrust was not embarking on anything like that, though they certain had their moments down the line. And yeah, destroying an enemy capable of that and so much else in the way of atrocity-mongering is actually an ethical position.
So many folks seem to think that rehabilitation is the way with people who have done bad things. That doesn’t erase what they did or bring back the persons they’ve damaged/killed. Better to destroy them utterly or just use their viable parts. (and this is coming from a dyed-in-the-wool radicalized liberal, but a pragmatic one.)
By your logic, the federation should utterly destroy the Romulans, Klingons etc. and the Klingon federation alliance wouldn’t exist.
By mine?
I am heartened to see the momentum.
🌊🌊🌊 🤍❤️💙 🖖 💙❤️🤍 🌊🌊🌊
Clearly, there’s only one way forward!!!
Off the cliff into further inflation and more undeclared wars…. yay!!!
and coups. Don’t forget the coups.
What’s a little treason as long as you sell pillows and sweat hair dye, ammiright?
Inflation is across the world, so as much as the GOP loves to blame the Dems, they’re not responsible. COVID caused inflation. After the pandemic died down, demand for goods increased because people had more expendable income (from government subsidies and reduced opportunity to make purchases due to lock down resulting in more savings) and a higher motivation to spend, yet the supply was down due to impaired supply chains across the world. Higher demand, lower supply = inflation.
What Silvereyes said.
The Dems are not responsible, but (1) they also misdiagnosed the problem (“corporate greed”), and (2) did not message it well (“don’t worry, be happy, it’s all ‘temporary’ and the economy is great”).
As far as point (2), what else were they going to say “Apocalypse is upon us, start eating dirt!” ? And ignoring the negative and highlighting or inventing the positive, to the point of gaslighting and blatantly lying, was the previous president’s favorite sport, no?
Thank you! I’m not American but I simply don’t want to see that bigot, liar and convicted criminal in office again.
Yep! We are not going back to this narcissistic sociopath, racist, insurrectionist and convicted felon. Enough already! We just want civility and sanity again. Not someone who is running just to literally stay out of jail and wants to be a dictator if he gets back into office.
Anyone but Trump
Now is the time to come together for the bright future that Star Trek represents.
Resistance is not futile.
Too bad there wasn’t a geeks and nerds for Ron Paul group back in 2008 and 2012, when both parties ran war-monger candidates for president.
Pres. Obama did not remotely run as a “warmonger candidate for president,” and you know it. In fact, he ran on express opposition to the Iraq war, and that is probably the main reason he defeated Hillary in the 2008 primaries.
There was certainly a “Dorks for Ron Paul” group then, if it helps.
Honestly, what is the point of a Geeks and Nerds for Harris event? Is this going to honestly make more Trekkies vote for Harris who otherwise would not do so without this event? Rich Star Trek celebrities’ and actors do not pay for my groceries or bills. Their opinions have absolutely zero bearing on how I will vote. I live in the battleground state of Wisconsin and I will NOT vote for Kamala Harris.
I don’t think Donald Trump’s tariffs which companies will just pass onto consumers or his “concepts of a plan” are going to help you either. Hateful rhetoric towards immigrants, the LGBT+ community, and women demanding reproductive rights will increase, and the people doing the hating will be in charge. All of that plus Trump’s dangerous love of autocrats, and his incompetence during the pandemic to me outweighs having to deal with the aftermath of high inflation, something the US has actually weathered better than most countries (without a recession).
People heap too much praise and blame on presidents when it comes to the economy. Trump inherited a good one, and his main mark on it was to cut taxes for the wealthy as if that’s ever worked for anyone in lower economic tiers. If he did anything to affect the economy it wasn’t great.
Celebrity endorsements have been part of politics for decades now on both sides. You’re just upset it’s not for your guy. Fine, but this is not anything new and you know it. And no one has to care who a celebrity supports. But it’s not shocking Star Trek actors will endorse someone who believes in democracy and not someone who has literally said he wants to terminate parts of the Constitution. A guy who is still pretending he didn’t lose the election in 2020 and tried to overthrow the government to stay in power. Someone his current VP pick who literally called him ‘America’s Hitler’ in the past. His last VP isn’t even endorsing him because a mob wanted to kill him because he wasn’t willing to break the law to try and keep his boss in power. You cannot make this up.
This is the guy you are surprised that more people are not on board with? This has nothing to do with being liberal vs conservative or Democrat vs Republican anymore and everything to do with keeping this psychopath and criminal from being back in office when he should be in prison.
I doubt the two radical populists on the republican presidential ticket care much about your bills or groceries.
Why does the event bother you if it will have no bearing on how you will vote?
First of all, I hope you aren’t under misguided impression a second Trump presidency would suddenly bring your grocery bills down. He inherited a strong economy and promptly threw it in the toilet with his “tax cats.” I care about human rights, I care about the planet, I care about the future of democracy. If you’re mad about your grocery prices, maybe start looking at corporate greed.
Personally, I think this “corporate greed” attack is a losing argument for the Democrats. Inflation is driven largely by monetary policy and (to a lesser degree) fiscal policy, and, in the case of 2020, by supply chain disruptions. Grocery stores are relatively low-margin businesses.
Biden mishandled the problem. Instead of promising us that inflation in mid-2021 was “temporary,” which it clearly was not at the time, he should have taken a page from Keir Starmer, who told the UK that “things will get worse economically before they get better.” That might not have been pleasing news, but it would at least have led people to trust Biden more. He should also have been laser-focused on fighting inflation and filtered major policy decisions through the lens of fighting inflation.
Fortunately, the Fed seems to have pulled off a soft landing. And to be clear, one of the things I really dislike about Trump is that he wants to curtail the political independence of the Fed from the executive branch, which will politicize decisions about interest rate adjustments.
But inflation has always been politically toxic, more so than even recessions, and no politician who wants to WIN should pooh-pooh it.
Kamala is right to have subtly distanced herself from Joe Biden in the debate, and I personally think she ought to pick an issue or two where she genuinely disagrees with him.
I have a friend who’s a Democratic bundler and a science fiction fan. Starting in 2004 or so, she began fundraising among the fandom community, and she claims (very, very plausibly) that a lot of her donors were apolitical “nerd” types who hadn’t previously paid attention to politics.
The Geeks and Nerds for Harris event is clearly a fundraising pitch. There are two links on the website — one for “I like my sci-fi set on Earth,” the other for “I like exploring space” — that both lead to the Harris-Walz donation page. You’ll note that the URLs both end in slightly different numbers, though. That’s a telltale sign that those numbers are likely assigned to two different bundlers for the campaign, and they’re probably engaged in a friendly competition to see who can generate the most donations.
I live in Wisconsin and WILL vote for Kamala Harris. So, we will cancel each other out. Check.
Besides I don’t support rich WWE celebrities telling me what to do. At least Trek celebrities won’t rip off their shirt to endorse. Though Shatner should do so–just for old times sake.
I’m sure the other two knobs care about your groceries.
Yeah great to see! It’s always special to see Star Trek and the people involved in it on the right side of history. Vote blue everyone if you’re American and want to keep democracy alive. Trump belongs in prison, not the White House. It’s sickening he’s even running again along with the disgusting and twisted things he’s been saying the last few months shows why this guy should never be President again.
It’s not just us bleeding hearts liberals and Trek fans either. When there are more established Republicans endorsing Harris than Trump, some who worked with the guy, should tell you this goes beyond what party you are in at this point.
This. ^ We really do agree on nearly everything, don’t we.
LOL, we certainly do! I don’t think I have agreed with anyone else as much on this board as you. And hopefully most people agree with us on this as well. This actually matters not just to America but the world.
You truly wound me, sir. 😝
LOL, sorry. Yeah, we agree on most things as well obviously although you’re not as big of a Prodigy fan as I am. And that’s OK lol.
I love seeing this level of involvement. Win or lose, let us not go quietly into the night. Not if we are to ever reach Star Trek’s bright vision of the future. May we all engage! (See what I did there lol)
Politics & Hollywood don’t go well when 95% of them have the same opinions. They are actors, I don’t care what they think. They have a platform due to their $$$$$$$.
That’s how I feel about money and politics. Especially when rich billionaires use their money to buy their own megaphones/platforms.
Not all actors are super wealthy and have the right to be just as political as anyone else.
the real danger is big business/religion & politics
Interesting how an overwhelming percentage of people in the arts and sciences support Harris. We see a bunch of actors, writers, musicians, scientists, professors, and more are voting Blue. Why is that?
Because they have exactly the amount of knowledge you’d expect people with their jobs to have?
By the way, “arts and sciences” are not the same thing.
I think you misunderstood the point VZX was making. They’re saying people in the arts and sciences are generally more well-informed than people who don’t have a general respect for those topics. Your reply is presented as a disagreement with VZX, but nothing you said contradicts what they said in any way.
Exactly.
I don’t see how my post merged arts and sciences as the same thing, if anything by using the conjunction “and” between the terms does delineate the two subjects. I have been working in the sciences for 25 years and I have met 100s of people in that field. I don’t know anyone in the arts personally, but this article is about how many actors and other creatives are joining together to support this particular candidate. Most of the folks I met in my field also support her.
I was fortunate enough to meet Terry Ferrel recently in OKC, and I thought she was a nice and decent person, funny and warm, despite the stark contrast in our politics.
Never met her but she always seems like a great person. Love listening to her on the Delta Flyers podcast as well.
Star Trek has always been liberal. Anyone who doesn’t think so doesn’t understand the universe of diversity and inclusivity that Gene Roddenberry created. When Discovery first aired and people accused it of being “woke” I laughed my ass off. Of course it’s woke. Star Trek was woke before woke was a thing. It’s always been forward-thinking, progressive, and liberal. Anyone who doesn’t think so hasn’t been paying attention. Do you have any idea how shocking and “woke” it was for Gene Roddenberry to put a Japanese man, a Russian man (in the midst of the Cold War,) and a Black woman (in the midst of the fight for civil rights) on the bridge of the Federation flagship in 1966? It was a big deal. And very, very woke. So I question any Star Trek “fan” who pushes back on supporting the Harris-Walz campaign. If you have a problem with it, you might want to take another look at what you think you’re a “fan” of. We are liberal and we are woke. Deal with it. LLAP.
Apparently at Star Trek Las Vegas there was a panel on “the politics of Star Trek” (I regret not going!) which inspired a tweet by Jeri Ryan and a reposte by Brianna Wu.
Wu is a former Democratic congressional candidate from Massachusetts and a bit of a personality on political Twitter. She is also evidently a Star Trek fan; when asked what was better in the 1990s than now, she replied “Star Trek.”
At any rate, she argued that Star Trek is more eclectic politically than you make it out to be, and I think she has a point.
Yes, the depiction of the diverse crew was liberal in the civil rights era.
But the Prime Directive also has an element of respect for traditional cultures and, more importantly, for non-intervention in civil conflicts. Picard refused to intervene in the Klingon Civil War, for example, until he had strong evidence of Romulan involvement, and even then he only blanketed the neutral zone with sensors to expose cloaked ships.
Non-intervention is largely a recognition of the limits of military power and, by extension, government. At least in this cycle, it’s become more associated with GOP thought, because the Ukraine war is (mostly) coded as a left-wing cause, like the Spanish Civil War was. (There are exceptions, of course.)
Walter Russell Mead has written an excellent book called SPECIAL PROVIDENCE in which he provides a typology of American foreign policy thought. He identifies four traditions in America foreign policy; (1) Wilsonians, who emphasize values-based, liberal internationalism, (2) Hamiltonians, who emphasize the importance of economic interests, (3) Jeffersonian, who tend to emphasize the limits of government power, (4) Jacksonians, who are somewhat isolationist but punch hard when they do intervene.
JD Vance gave a quintessential Jacksonian speech at the RNC. However, these traditions do not always map neatly onto US political parties. The Bush era neocons and Democratic figures like Biden, Albright, and Nuland are all Wilsonian (as of course was Wilson himself). GWHB was a Hamiltonian.
Viewing international politics as a contest between democracy and authoritarianism, as Biden now does, is very Wilsonian.
The Prime Directive seems to me to mostly be a Jeffersonian concept, although one that Hamiltonians and Jacksonians could largely get behind. Data once said (to Q, IIRC) that Starfleet has allowed the strong to dominate the weak, thanks to the Prime Directive. That would be anathema to Wilsonians. Picard was a bit politically inconsistent; he was a defender of the Prime Directive but also seemed to have a Wilsonian streak to him (I attribute that to the show being written in the late 1990s.) Nonetheless, I think Picard would be trying to settle the Ukraine war diplomatically.
Admirals Nechayeva and Ross both seem to be continental realists, in the vein of Metternich. Mead claims that continental realism is alien to US foreign policy (I don’t quite agree; Nixon and Ramaswamy are realists, and Obama is arguably a soft realist.)
Worf and Yar often appeared to take hawkish views on security matters. Worf was shown to be a cultural conservative. Troi, too: she rejected the idea of abortion in “The Child,” accepted an arranged marriage, an argued for deploying the anti-Borg virus using Hugh as a carrier, this on the grounds that “there are no civilians among the Borg.” Sisko was very respectful of the Bajoran religion.
.
There’s a lot of stuff in here’s that *wildly* mischaracterized as being conservative (though I will certainly agree that “Star Trek is liberal” is an oversimplification.)
Episodes had both liberal and conservative tones and Kirk certainly didn’t act like a liberal
Kirk was a country club Republican, at least in the pre-Goldwater sense.
Where I live a few of us have volunteered and been doing some door knocking for Harris and it’s not a blue state either, which is why we think it’s more important than ever. And it’s actually surprising how many hardcore Republicans we meet who are now saying Trump has to go and a danger to the country. A few of them voted for him twice and now even they are saying enough is enough and plans to vote for Harris. There is a YT channel called Republicans against Trump and the ones I see there are saying basically the same things from people we meet here. It seems like January 6 is what really convinced most of them how destructive he can be; but many just hate all the lies and how much he villainize and attacks people.
It’s great to see so many Trek actors and fans support Harris because the alternative is just frightening. He’s only out for himself, bigoted and frankly just really ignorant. It’s obvious he doesn’t even understand most of the things he talks about whenever he tries to go into any real details about his own policies. It seems to be more of a cult who follows him (and I meet some of them daily here as well) than anything and that’s even more frightening because they will let this guy do anything.
But he cannot win again. First President in America’s history who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power because his ego couldn’t accept he lost. That alone should’ve disqualified him from ever running again not to mention being a felon.
trump is a ST villain made flesh
I don’t even sci fi could come up with a villain as outlandish as the Trump.
I’ve been away for so long. How is everyone doing.
Especially considering that this is Hollywood, there’s a curious and total absence of Red Sea Pedestrians on all these lists. Odd.
MST4GA (make ST4 go again)
Normally I try to stay away from politics in Trek. But since this is the topic… Trump is the greatest danger to this world since Hitler and needs to be stopped at all costs.
Absolutely 💯%!
Whatever your politics, VOTE!
However, if you don’t believe in democracy, DON’T VOTE.
I am old enough to remember TOS being criticized as too “Country Club Republican”.,for its optimism at that time
Well, that’s everyone’s opinions then I guess. You’ve all got a right to them. I personally don’t like politics much, and I prefer to stay away from it, but since they went and posted about it anyway, I will add my very limited 2 cents, so to speak. I don’t like either of the candidates, Trump or Harris. Trump is basically losing his mind and Harris hasn’t been able to take anything seriously since she became VP. She doesn’t even have her own policies. Oh there’s policies on her website but guess what? It’s a copy and paste of the policies from BIDEN’s campaign site. Also, she refuses to take questions from the media, and the one interview she did that they told us was going to be live ended up being pre-recorded. As for Trump….Well every time he opens his mouth he says something ludicrous so I’ve stopped keeping track. However, there was one thing he did say that I haven’t forgotten. He claimed that people were eating other peoples pet cats and dogs. I’m sorry but what drug is he using? Nowhere anywhere in the US is that happening, or I’m pretty sure it would have been international breaking news for days.
TL,DR: I don’t like either Trump or Harris. Yeah I know I sad at the beginning it would be very limited 2 cents, but I couldn’t stop typing so lol
Ok – I agree people shouldn’t be belittled for supporting their candidate.
So – would this site give the same coverage and positioning to a Trump focused event? And would the readers be respectful to it?
For context – I’m not American. Just curious.
Hopefully not because Trump is a criminal and has stepped on the very institution that gives him the privilege to even run.
This is the problem, treating Trump as if he’s just another opponent in the race running for President. He’s not. This is the same person who was impeached the first time by trying to blackmail a COUNTRY to start a bogus investigation on his future opponent and damage his reputation once he did decide to run. He was then impeached again for trying to illegally stop the peaceful transfer of power, first time in American history, to the same opponent when he won that cost people’s lives and hundreds incarcerated. And to this day has never conceded that he lost that election putting our entire political system in doubt by millions of people who believes his lies and how January 6 came to pass in the first place.
Add to the fact he has been indicted twice for these acts (and possibly a future third indictment coming from Arizona) with other accomplices (several who have already pleaded guilty) highlights just how serious this is.
Trump does not deserve to be treated equally because he doesn’t respect the process he’s a part of nor will follow it fairly if he loses as shown in the previous election.
He’s a total disgrace and stain on this country.
“So – would this site give the same coverage and positioning to a Trump focused event?”
I mean, pieces here are presented sequentially. So…probably? I don’t know who that would be, though, with the passing of Gary Graham and all.
” And would the readers be respectful to it?”
What does this even mean?
I can tell you that if a bunch of well-known Star Trek celebs put together a big event for Trump, we would cover it.
Trump’s rhetoric isn’t respectful so it would be difficult. He sets the tone by being a bully, by choosing a hateful VP nominee, by stirring up divisions and vilifying people whose lives are already difficult enough as it is, by emphasizing greed, ego and pettiness over virtue and kindness.
I can’t imagine what a Republican Star Trek actor fundraiser would look like. Just an episode of Dwight Schultz’s podcast, I suppose.
Agreed. I don’t know who would participate!
Why didn’t she solve the border crisis, she is in charge of it? Also, the bill with the 1500 additional border agents was a red hearing for the voters. Why did she instruct federal agents to work against Texas when they wanted to shut down the border? I’m my whole life liberal, but with a brain, I’m still able of critical thinking.
Interesting phrasing.
The level of illegal border crossings and attempts is down to where it was at the end of the Trump administration. Harris was tasked with working with the three Northern Triangle countries to help stem the influx of migrants. She secured over $5 billion in corporate investment commitments in the region. There are other factors in play, but migration from all three countries is now down. Republican opportunists called Harris a border czar to wound her early just as they seized upon the Benghazi embassy attack to try and preemptively smear Hillary Clinton.
The border bill was real. Congress and the Senate were prepared to pass it with bipartisan support. It was an incremental bill that could have been built upon later and would have done a lot to curb the fentanyl crisis for a start. Trump tanked it.
Work needs to be done to secure the border better, but people are acting like illegal immigrants are coming in and stealing all our white collar jobs and laughing maniacally about it. We can’t be carried away by hostile rhetoric about things like “migrant crime” as if it’s an epidemic committed by people who are actually trying to avoid running afoul of law enforcement. It vilifies immigrants in general and incites racism while squeezing out people’s capacity for compassion and curiosity the more they are told to view migrants as nothing more than a drain on resources diluting the purity of American culture. Working with target countries to help improve their crime rates and economic opportunities in combination with giving more resources to border patrols is a sound long term solution to managing an influx of illegal border crossings.