Though science fiction literature outsiders may see it as
such but is Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek a “religion-in-itself”?
By: Ringo Bones
Strange how it is that during the first decade of the 21st
Century, the most vocal critics that I know of the malfeasance behind former US
President George W. Bush’s “War on Terror” are dyed-in-the-wool Star Trek fans.
Despite of his service during World War II and a first-hand working knowledge
of the most devastating weapons at the time – Gene Roddenberry was a former US
Army Air Cops bomber pilot – he is surprisingly pacifist when it comes to his
views on America’s military adventurism at the height of the Cold War.
Before he passed away back in October 24, 1991, Star trek creator Gene
Roddenberry had a very profound statement about a degree of a civilization and
its ability to wage was in which he quoted: “The strength of a civilization is
not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent
them.” Which, If you ask me, is quite a far cry from former US President Bush’s
“neo-conservatives” in the White house and Capitol Hill had done after 9/11 and
the ensuing chaos that resulted in the Persian Gulf that we are still feeling
until this very moment.
Many had described Gene Roddenberry’s “religious belief” as
“secular humanism”. In actuality, secular humanism is a non-religious worldview
rooted in science, naturalistic philosophy and humanist ethics. Rather than
faith, doctrine, or mysticism, secular humanists use reason, compassion, and
common sense to find solutions to human problems. Secular humanists promote
universal values such as integrity, benevolence, fairness, and responsibility,
and believe that with reason, an open marketplace of ideas, good will and
tolerance, progress can be made toward building a better world for ourselves
and future generations. And I think it is a “religion” I can definitely
subscribe to.
