Every warm morning in the summer of my high school years, I would share my mornings with my Dad. Every morning, after waking from the alarm, getting showered and dressed for work, I would share an hour or so as we both prepared. I would have a small plate of two cooked eggs with ketchup (he an egg tortilla wrap with cheese), and we would share an hour watching all of the classic Gene Roddenberry Star Trek reruns.
While I was watching The Island, it wasn't really the themes of white spandex jumpsuits, government surveillance, or intersocial disruption that made me think of Utopia. Humorously enough, it was the, "I'm Tom Lincoln!" exchange.
It reminded me of the Star Trek episode, one of which I saw with my Dad that morning, called "The Enemy Within". It's an episode where Kirk is split into two people: one that is the good in Kirk, and the other that is the evil in him. It explores the limits of humanity which drive and power us all. It shows that a balance between both good and evil bring out the very best (or, possibly, the very worst in us).
"We all have our darker side. We need it! It's half of what we are. It's not really ugly. It's human."
- McCoy, to Kirk's good duplicate
Months back, I posted about how there's no such thing as a Utopia, or one that we can actually live in. We found that it's something we're always striving for, and something we'll never accomplish because people are always becoming dedicated to revolutionary new ideas that we believe can change the world for the better.
I've written in the past that it's the innate human desire to excel, or for freedom, or to be happy, that prevents a Utopia from being realized. As of late, I'm beginning to think that it's the struggle between the emotions inside of us that prevent a true Utopia. There's no way of brainwashing people into being model citizens because various external influences pull us to and fro like puppets at the hand of a puppeteer.
It's the combination of demons that brings out the best in us and the worst in us, allowing us either to achieve our goals while maintaining a respect for others or to harm those whom we should care for. Even the slightest imbalance in any single individual's heart upsets any possibility for a Utopia that can be realized and sustained.
I agree with you. I do not think that there is such a thing as utopia. It is an idea that we have created. We can imagine it, we may even get a chance to live our lives dedicated to filling it, but things change and people are people. There will always be good and bad people in this world that will prevent utopias from existing completely.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, good on you for posting about Star Trek. Major kudos from me.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, do you think that the elimination of that human element is what people strive for with utopia? For those seeking "Nirvana", this becomes an issue as well. They want to eliminate all desire for personal gain, all the negative things that can potentially hurt others, and become beggars and monks in order to become one with their beliefs.
Would a society of people like this be what we would traditionally think of as a utopia? Granted, they need to beg to non-monks in order to get food, so does that mean that they need those people to provide for them?
I agree with you. We have not just negatives and positives but just different emotions that depending on when they're displayed can be negative or positive. Agression in self-defense or even a sport could be considered a positive. It certainly helps survival. But when turned towards others in a non-survival situation it can cause a lot of problems.
ReplyDeleteAnd removing these sort of emotions creates weaknesses.
I think your idea is interesting