Star Trek

I didn't know the most recent Star Trek movie was written by a 9/11 Truther:

The writer in question is Roberto Orci. It seems Orci has a reputation on Twitter (and elsewhere) as a conspiracy theorist, specifically about the aforementioned Sept. 11 terror attacks. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that someone who believes such is ... "socially accepted" enough to gain a position as a writer of one of Hollywood's biggest franchises. And not only that, but actually write such conspiracy mongering into his scripts. If you have't already seen it, Into Darkness is very much a 9/11 [Truther] parable. You can check out our past summary of the flick here.

Now, imagine if Orci were a Birther ... and Into Darkness included a sub-plot about Admiral Barnett not being actually born on a Federation planet, thus being ineligible to be the head of Starfleet Academy. What do you think the media would say, then? Orci would be denounced as a complete lunatic, much like what Orson Scott Card has faced with his comicbook writing, and most recently with his film Ender's Game. With the mainstream media (and Hollywood), it's very simple: Trutherism = good, Birtherism = bad.

There's a lot bad about the recent Star Trek reboots, which I wrote about here.  There's something else that's been bothering me.  I don't know if I read about it somewhere else or if it's an original thought but it's been bothering me for awhile now.

There were 6 original-series movies, 4 Next Generation movies, and 2 reboots.  That's a total of 12 movies, and in three of them the plot involves bad people in Starfleet.

In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, potential peace with the Klingons is derailed by rogue Starfleet officers intent on maintaining the war.

In Star Trek: Insurrection, a secret project with a race of bad guys is approved by the Federation Council.  The project involves the forced relocation of a people from their planet.

And in the most recent movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness, we find another rogue high-ranking Starfleet officer trying to build secret weapons and ships with which to attack the Klingons--or Kirk and the Enterprise, if they stand in his way.

Three out of twelve, a full quarter, involve bad guys who are supposed to be good.  Inside jobs.

I'm not saying the Federation has to be perfect, but are there no other story lines out there such that a quarter of the plots have to be about rot in the Federation?  Are there no other antagonists?  Heck, in Star Trek IV there wasn't even an "enemy", just a probe that didn't seem to understand it was harming Earth--if you think having an "enemy" is just too martial.

I'm reminded of a quote that I keep on my list of favorite quotes:
"A civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does will lack the energy and conviction to defend itself."
--French writer Jean Francois Revel

I fear we're getting too close for comfort.