Money is irrelevant, all basic needs are seen to, so people are able to pursue whatever goals they choose to set for themselves, become whatever they have the capability to.

That’s the pinnacle of the American Dream, to chase after greatness unhindered by limitations of supply and demand, by borders or prejudices. To simply achieve, through effort and will, whatever it is that you can dream of and are capable of, no matter who or what you are.

I kind of wish I knew the conservatives you hang out with, because the ones I know hint around this kind of racial determinism all the time.

Oh, I know there are crazy people out there…but you know, I have watched people do the same for folks on the left. There is some insane shit on the web regardless of political affiliation. Just because some conservatives are bigots doesn’t actually mean they all are, just as being liberal does not equal “tolerant”. I just get a bit tired of the discourse on the web being the equivelant of kids on a playground… “You suck!” “No! you suck!!!”

Now, since the simple answer isn’t that satisfying, some pontification. In general, the one thing I demand in my fiction of any kind is confident characters. They should know who and what they are and act accordingly. Introspection is perfectly acceptable – navel-gazing and whiny self-indulgence is not. Kirk acted. Sisko tended to act. I liked them. Picard and the other two didn’t, and I didn’t.

I know a lot of conservatives. I do not know a single one that believes:

Really? Because I just finished reading about conservative bloggers who are saying that Iowans are handling flooding better than New Orleans residents handled Katrina because Iowans are white. One commenter on such a blog was even good enough to point out that the original entry about white people dealing with disasters better than black people is only saying “what everyone is secretly thinking.” The other comments follow a similar vein.

I kind of wish I knew the conservatives you hang out with, because the ones I know hint around this kind of racial determinism all the time.

In the real world, things take patience, economic development, tolerance, non-governmental organizations, diplomacy, and things like that. The Bush doctrine assumes you can just send in Captain Kirk.

Even still, how often did Counsellor Troy wear a real uniform, and Worf got to fill his boots with Klingon crap (I can only ever recall Sisko chewing Worf out for his alien habits when it came to Worf killing his brother)? Then on DS9, you had all kinds of Bajor folk around wearing Bajoran uniforms and Kira, who was Sisko’s right hand man, was a Major in Bajor’s whatever. And, y’know, the Academy and matching color-coded uniforms were for a Starfleet. Complaining about that seems about as valid as complaining that, say, if I moved to the U.S., became a citizen, and joined the Navy that I’d have to wear Navy’s uniform.

This easily plays into conservatives’ fantasies that all black people want gold chains and spinning hubcaps and all Christian white people are inherently good. It’s this basic idea that all people share inherent qualities from their race/background/nationality.

“Non-bipedal humans”? Wouldn’t those just be infants and people without legs?

I meant “humanoids.” Jerk.