Patrick Stewart, who play Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation is being knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Mention of Stewart being a staunch Labourite has had a few people at the National Review wonder why some conservatives like Star Trek when it is decidedly left leaning. On the other hand, some think Star Wars is more in line with conservative ideals:

• In Star Trek, law enforcement is armed with phasers. Officers stun people, then lock them up, then subject them to intensive psychiatry until they are “cured” of their criminal impulses. In Star Wars, law enforcement under the Galactic Republic appears to be the job of Jedi Knights who try to avoid violence but, if pressed, will cut you in half with a light saber.

• In Star Trek, evil characters are frequently considered to be the product of a poor environment, a bad childhood, misunderstanding, or miscommunication. It turns out that Captain Kirk and the other original cast members just didn’t understand the Klingons, for example, or the Romulans. The Gorn, a lizard-like race that does a Pearl Harbor on the Federation and kills many innocent people, are later excused from culpability because they say that they saw peaceful Federation colonists as “invaders” in their territory. Killer clouds of space gas or giant space amebas threatening the lives of billions turn out to be lost children or mindless things just trying to survive. Even the Borg, a great source of villainy from The Next Generation, are humanized in subsequent stories.

In Star Wars, evil characters have been seduced by the dark side of the Force. They have given into temptation, and are held accountable for their actions. The Star Wars movies are really morality tales, and have a strong religious component in spite of themselves. No one argues that Sith Lords might have turned out differently if they had just been enrolled in a quality preschool program.

Me? I’ve always like Trek over Wars. I mean, I loved Star Wars, but I’ve always liked how Star Trek dealt with issues of the day and it’s emphasis on diversity. But Trek has not been a liberal love fest in the way that some envision (witness how the Federation deals with the Borg).

At the end of the day, I think both franchises have good things to talk about concerning life, death and evil. I would rather just enjoy both than have to choose what my politics dictate.

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