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5 Tough Love Quotes From Mr. Spock to Humanity

Wise words for tumultuous times

By Maria Shimizu ChristensenPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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3rd season publicity photo

From miniskirts to civil rights, the 1960s was a period of cultural unrest and changing social mores. Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek series addressed a lot of the issues of the day – sometimes slyly, sometimes overtly – and changed the landscape of television. Briefly. The original series only ran for three seasons, from 1966 to 1969.

Of course, while Star Trek existed within the United Federation of Planets, it’s practically an empire now in our non-fictional world with numerous television shows and movies, and more in the works. Newer iterations of the franchise spark hot debate and strong feelings in ardent fans of past versions, some of whom are pretty brutal and insulting in their opinions. Which is really no different than how many people express their opinions on any number of subjects. Gene wouldn’t approve, and neither would Mr. Spock.

Now, blunt honesty was always a trademark of our favorite Vulcan, Mr. Spock, who had no trouble explaining why he didn’t always like serving with humans. But honesty without the frills is still a far cry from being mean. And Spock would probably recognize that expressions of meanness are a symptom of deeper societal problems, because that would be the logical conclusion. But he had words for us.

The words he said over 50 years ago not only still hold true, they are timeless. Unless you can foresee a future in which absolutely everyone is rational and kind. I can’t, despite holding onto a shred of hope for the 24th century.

“Insufficient facts always invite danger.” Season 1, episode 24, “Space Seed”

It would be logical to conclude that this quote is self-evident, but Spock would be the first to point out that humans are not always logical. Hasty opinions formed without rational, critical thinking based on facts and objectivity are often on intimate terms with conspiracy theories and fringe movements.

“In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.” Season 3, episode 9, “The Tholian Web”

This quote illustrates a whole slew of cognitive biases that we employ to help form our opinions, not the least of which is confirmation bias: “The tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.” We cherry-pick data and employ double standards and fall back on hypocrisy if we have to. We have to stop doing this.

“Without followers, evil cannot spread.” Season 3, episode 5, “And the Children Shall Lead”

Spock wants us to think for ourselves and be wary of those who would lead us at all levels of society. Refer to the above two quotes to understand how thinking for ourselves is supposed to work.

“Change is the essential process of all existence.” Season 3, episode 15, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”

Fear of change can cause us to think and do all sorts of irrational things. During particularly volatile time periods, this fear and these thoughts and actions are exacerbated, creating a loop of more fear and more irrationality. We need to recognize that all of life is about change. We continually change from the moment we’re born until the day we die. I want my 21-year-old body back. It’s not going to happen, so the best thing I can do is accept, adapt, and move on. The worst thing would be to refuse to acknowledge the changes and behave as if I was still capable of doing a backbend.

“One can begin to reshape the landscape with a single flower, Captain.” Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 5, episode 8, “Unification, Part II”

These are the words that keep me from developing a full-blown intimate relationship with pessimism. We are not as insignificant and powerless as individuals as we sometimes (often) think. A single sapling can become a forest.

Thank you, Mr. Spock.

Rest well, Mr. Nimoy

NBC Publicity Photo

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About the Creator

Maria Shimizu Christensen

Writer living my dreams by day and dreaming up new ones by night

The Read Ink Scribbler

Bauble & Verve

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Also, History Major, Senior Accountant, Geek, Fan of cocktails and camping

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