I never watched Star Trek growing up as a kid... I was too young when it was on originally in the late 1960s. Eventually, in 1982/83, I watched Star Trek 2: the Wrath of Khan (primarily because I was a fan of Ricardo Montalban from Fantasy Island!)... and I was hooked. I became a Star Trek addict, watching re-runs of the original series, tracking down novels and books and generally getting a serious dose of Star Trek. Along the way, I picked up an interesting mixture of worldview mixed with philosophy.
Star Trek taught me many things... one of which is that there are stranger things out there than we can imagine! And some of those things have become real in our lifetimes... phasers--tasers... communicators--cell phones & bluetooth headsets! To name just a few... There was an openness in Star Trek that drew me in, an inclusiveness of all differences.
It was voiced most strongly in one of the primary Vulcan philosophies: IDIC. This stands for Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations... An acceptance of all sorts of people, species, races... in all of their diversity and in all of their combinations. It always struck me that this sort of a philosophy was way more wide open than any of the "human" ones I had come across (granted - Star Trek was created by a human... but how many countries, religions proclaim that sort of an inclusivity??)... That philosophy has shaped me, has shaped my thinking, shaped my theology, shaped my way of viewing the world... I am richer for it!
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