So, You Want To Start Starfleet Academy …

Join daily news updates from CleanTechnica on electronic mail. Or follow us on Google News!

It’s an unsightly election yr, and we’ve most likely not seen the ugliest. There’s nonetheless 69 days, 420 minutes, and 8008 seconds to go, and with the entire wild plot twists we’ve seen up to now, that’s a variety of time for drama and craziness. Sooner or later, aliens are going to land and endorse somebody, adopted by the ghost of Saint Joe from Waterworld making an look. Something can occur this yr, it appears.

Relying on who you aspect with, you’ve most likely been both aggravated or blissful at Elon Musk’s political actions these previous couple of years, and will have had these emotions amplified this yr.

Again within the day, he was much more refined and progressive along with his politics. Typically, he identified as a socialist. Different instances, he was a utopian anarchist. However, he all the time made certain to qualify his place by referring to a sci-fi novel or declare further purity to set himself other than mainstream socialists and anarchists. The necessary factor was that he cared about preserving the sunshine of consciousness, which drove him to assist issues like colonizing Mars or speed up the transition to renewable vitality.

However, someplace between discovering out his child was transgender and getting dumped by a lady who dated a transgender particular person subsequent, the person’s priorities shifted and he determined to tackle the “Woke Mind Virus.” He slowly moved his public place from being some type of centrist or progressive impartial towards supporting the Republican Social gathering. Then, he claimed that his beliefs had not modified (see the hyperlinks within the final paragraph to verify on that) and that the Democrats had run left, inflicting his centrist place to be on the correct.

Whereas it’s definitely true that California politicians and commerce unions performed a task on this change, New Elon leaves a style in left-leaning mouths that brings up the identical emotions as New Coke did again within the day. With that in thoughts, we are able to now have a look at a latest Tweet from Elon calling for the creation of Starfleet Academy:

Let’s make Starfleet Academy actual!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2024

If 2018 Elon had carried out this, he would most likely have loved a mixture of eye rolling from overly severe individuals and cheering from sci-fi nerds and his followers. In any case, the politically mysterious good man who cares about the way forward for humanity sounds type of just like the values of the United Federation of Planets, possibly. However, since we’re speaking about 2024 Elon, he most likely didn’t get the response he was in search of.

First step : Help a frontrunner that embodies Starfleet values like range, inclusion and
moral conduct.

— Robert Picardo (@RobertPicardo) August 27, 2024

Whereas loads of individuals ragged on Elon for not embodying or supporting Federation values, most likely probably the most notable reply he received up to now was from Robert Picardo, the actor who performed the Emergency Medical Holographic (EMH) Program on Star Trek: Voyager. He additionally performed the EMH on one other ship in Star Trek: First Contacta backup EMH who was stolen and powered up a whole lot of years later, an evil EMH from a renegade Starfleet vessel, and the inventor of the EMH. Yep, you could be something in Star Trek!

He factors out that supporting Donald Trump is principally the alternative of the values Starfleet holds pricey. Variety, inclusion, and ethics are cited by him, however I wished to level out another enjoyable issues from the Star Trek cinematic universe that will most likely make 2024 Elon scream.

The Setting Is Vital In Star Trek

Whereas 2018 Elon was very a lot pro-environment, we’ve seen newer variations of Elon who might as nicely have come from the Mirror Universe at instances. As an alternative of wanting to maintain CO2 emissions down as a lot as attainable, he extra lately has stated that it’s okay to have 400 ppm, and most lately may have suggested that 1000 ppm might even be OK.

However, the surroundings is an enormous deal to the Federation and Starfleet. In a number of alternate timelines, we get to see what a mismanaged Earth seems to be like, with one that includes a photo voltaic defend that dims the planet to decrease international warming and one other by which the Borg screw up the entire planet with excessive concentrations of cybernetic zombies and methane.

And, earlier than anyone says it, this concern for the surroundings goes again a very long time, with the unique Enterprise crew led by James T. Kirk main a mission to avoid wasting the whales.

Star Trek even hints that EVs are the long run, with an unique Aptera displaying up within the 2009 alternate timeline reboot.

“Woke” Stuff Like Racial Variety and LGBT

In the present day, the unique Star Trek collection that began in 1966 doesn’t appear to be something that controversial. However the concept of getting a black girl engaged on the bridge alongside a Japanese man and a Russian was an enormous deal again then. If we put this in in the present day’s racist phrases, individuals would name Uhura a “DEI hire” and so they’d name having a Russian on the present Soviet propaganda.

Later, newer Star Trek collection used sci-fi allegories to get individuals to take a contemporary look not solely at racial equality, however gender equality, gender norms, LGBT rights, non secular tolerance, militarism, unions, cash, diplomacy, and multiculturalism. For many who aren’t large Trek followers, right here’s a video that lays all of it out (skip to five:30 if you wish to save a couple of minutes):

Listed here are some extra examples that target LGBT themes Star Trek has tackled over time:

Saving Humanity Whereas Shedding Our Humanity Is Pointless

I believe what bothers socially liberal Trek followers probably the most about Elon Musk’s name for a creation of Starfleet Academy is that we don’t need the type of future somebody like him would create. Driving EVs and touring the celebs with out retaining what humanity has fought for because the Enlightenment, the proliferation of republicanism, and extra lately the assorted civil rights actions seems to be much more like destroying humanity than saving it.

In different phrases: If all of those hard-fought freedoms are misplaced, the life kinds touring out into the celebs might not likely be referred to as human. Star Trek would name them Terrans, as in the Terran Empire of Star Trek’s mirror universe (goatees for all!).

So, if Elon Musk desires to venture his will into the celebs whereas vanquishing the “woke mind virus,” neglecting environmental stewardship, and disposing of human freedoms, he actually wants to call his army institute the Terran Imperial Academy, not Starfleet Academy.

Featured Picture: A screenshot from Star Trek: Enterprise’s mirror universe episodes. Truthful Use.