September eighth marked the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek. I believe that Gene Roddenberry sold the idea to the network as some sort of space western, but although there was plenty of action, and beautiful alien women, Roddenberry had bigger things in mind.
Like much of the best science fiction, Roddenberry used alien cultures and far-off time frames to illustrate problems we faced on the good old planet earth. Star Trek played out hatred and bigotry, honor and deceit; democracy and empire; and xenophbia, all safely taking place hundreds of years and thousands of light-years away.
Also, like some of the best science-fiction writers, Roddenberry had at least one amazing insight. Knowing that all of our history showed that whenever a more technologically advanced culture confronted a less advanced culture, the result (intent) was always conquest and exploitation, Gene Roddenberry gave Starfleet 'The Prime Directive'. A Starfleet officer could never interfere in any way, even at risk of his own life, with the natural development of less advanced civilizations. He gave his fictitious heroes a logical extension of what we like to think of as our own exceptionalism: a powerful force for good.
I would like to think that if advanced alien civilizations exist, that they have somehow worked out their own version of Gene Roddenberry's great idea. Because, quite frankly, if they haven't, and we meet them- we're fucked.
