Jedi or Trekkie
We are in transit to a postmodern world. We are experiencing the tension or the passing of socialism and capitalism, realpolitik and globalization, classical physics and quantum uncertainty, power and force, manufactured truth and apparent truth, idealism and realism, and so on. The grand myth that gives meaning to our social order is in flux.
Science fiction experiments with the myths for meaning. TheMatrix, Avatar, Interstellarall make the audience think about the world of the future. But for decades running, two myths have been competing for our attention. Star Trek and Star Wars.
I just watched the latest Star Wars Episode IX with our grandchildren. I remember taking their mother Suzanne and her little brother Aaron to see the first Star Wars42 years ago. And “a long time ago in a galaxy far far away” there was the Force. And there was the Evil Empire threatening to take over the galaxy headed by Dark Vader who is in the grips of the Dark Side of the Force as wielded by the evil emperor.
War Stars presents a myth which ancient Christians would identify as Manichean — a struggle between Good and Evil in God that explains the struggle between good and evil in humanity. The most famous Manichean before he was converted to orthodox Christianity, which he helped to define, is Saint Augustine guided by his good mother Monica. The divine duality was often expressed in sexual terms between the flesh and the spirit though according to Saint Paul, the organizer of the Christian Church, the spirit was of the All Good God and the flesh was of his rebellious, breakaway angel Lucifer who, according to the later fathers of the Church, was jealous because God was going to put humans, through Jesus the Christ, over the angels.
The war between the devil and the saints would continue until the End of history or the Apocalypse when Christ leading his army of the faithful would defeat the Evil One leading the angels and souls of the damned. Where did Lucifer come from? Well, of course, from God. So whether you called it two competing Forces or One Force with two sides. Star Wars is about war between good and evil, physical war with death stars, laser blasters, lightsabers, combat space craft and millions killed — enough to feel a disruption in the Force. The Jedi were those most attuned to the Force. They had apparently a genetic predisposition since they were often in one family. But they also went through exhaustive training in monastic settings. Once attuned to the Force they could use it for good or evil. They became the saints and demons of this faraway galaxy.
Star Trek is about exploration and discovery. Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!
Its about adventure where aliens and dangers are encountered but not wars or conquest. The prime directive prohibits Starfleet personnel and spacecraft from interfering in the normal development of any society, and mandates that any Starfleet vessel or crew member is expendable to prevent violation of this rule. Religions and cultural values, even rather weird ones, are respected by the Enterprise and there is no effort to convert or even educate aliens to a higher standard of living. It is a humanist vision of persons being allowed to progress at their own pace, in their own way. However, there are some contradictions since even to observe another culture could be an interference. Moreover, the overriding goal is sharing the universe and there is an assumption that the evolution of life does mean progress.
It’s a vision of advance in morality through greater knowledge of other forms, ways, and people. Empathy is valued and if there is any life force it is found within persons seeking to understand.
The only gods in Star Trek are frauds, tricksters, and subjugators. One adventure has the crew beaming down to a planet that has been abandoned by life forms but has the old Greek gods who once came to earth. They are simulations from a machine that thrives on human belief. When humans believe, the fraudulent gods thrive; but when they are exposed to skepticism they wane away. Another has trickster Q the immortal entity with great powers of destruction who can enjoys appearing on the Enterprise and having contests with Commander Picard. In one segment, Q grows tired of immortality and wants to die. But the most destructive force in Star Trek is the Borg — a cyborg that destroys everything and assimilates everyone in its path. It is a collective run by a Queen who dominates this all-encompassing Power.
Star Wars and Star Trek offer competing myths for our postmodern world.
Personally, I tend to be more of a Trekkie with a secular humanist democratic perspective than a Jedi in conflict with the Dark Side of the Force living in a benign monarchy under Queen Leia. I do not divide the world into Good and Evil Empires or accuse those with whom I disagree as on the side of Satan or the Axis of Evil. On the other hand, I do not believe that we humans are ultimately good or inevitably in progress. I do not regard humanity as born in original sin that must be overcome by sacrifice of the Holy, nor originally blessed and so destined for the Good.
Here is the existential mystery of destiny and freedom. We are neither slave to nor free from our genes and memes, our nature and nurture. We are blessed with possibilities but must choose to actualize them. Our destiny is not set but discovered through our choices. Our freedom, our ability to choose, is not unlimited, but achieved progressively. This makes it impossible to definitively judge others, but at the same time makes it essential to work with others to become free.
Ambiguity and uncertainty are the marks of the transmodern world. Can we accept and maneuver through that?