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AdmiralScreed August 5 2013 05:39 AM

Something To Work Towards
 
So, by the time of TNG, war, poverty, hunger, and all that jazz have been eradicated. A system of currency no longer exists. Based on all that I have witnessed in Star Trek, I would guess that college is publicly funded for everyone, and students are encouraged to pursue whatever they are interested in because the happiness of the individual and they're own unique contributions to society are valued above all else. Everyone is cared for under this system, and there is a place for everyone in society, no matter what your skill.

This is such a beautiful picture to me. As a college student myself, I wish I could live in a time like that. I am a bass player studying classical music at a university with a conservatory-level music program, but I need to consider double majoring because the job prospects for orchestral musicians are at an all time low right now (not to mention for a lot of careers). :( I don't mind studying a second major; I love to study other things and be well-rounded. I just wish I didn't have to choose another major because I needed a fallback.

Oh Star Trek, you paint such a beautiful picture of the future. The opportunities are limitless and there for the taking for everyone. Something for us to work towards...

Thanks for reading and making a positive contribution to your community and the people around you! :)

T'Girl August 5 2013 06:34 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

AdmiralScreed wrote: (Post 8470768)
So, by the time of TNG, war, poverty, hunger, and all that jazz have been eradicated.

Well they still have jazz.

And while Humans might not engage each other in war on the surface of the Earth, warfare is ocassionally visited upon Humans by others who travel to Earth. For the most part the killing and destruction has moved off world. How convenient.

Would education be free? It's never mention one way or the other on the show. Starfleet Academy training would come in exchange for agreeing to time in service. Wesley's ship board education, and Jake's home schooling would come from being dependants of Starfleet personnel. Part of the contract.

Keiko briefly opperated a school on DS9, but any financial arrangements were unseen.

:)

Bad Thoughts August 5 2013 06:58 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

T'Girl wrote: (Post 8472769)
Would education be free? It's never mention one way or the other on the show. Starfleet Academy training would come in exchange for agreeing to time in service. Wesley's ship board education, and Jake's home schooling would come from being dependants of Starfleet personnel. Part of the contract.

Keiko briefly opperated a school on DS9, but any financial arrangements were unseen.

:)

The ability to achieve Star Trek economics is, of course, debatable. However, it would seem that the costs of any organization or enterprise, including schools and universities, is almost negligible. Quark's business had a lease with the Federation, but it collected neither the rent not the power bill. In many countries, the cost of a university education is already very low for citizens. It is feasible that higher education would be free in this universe.

Quote:

Well they still have jazz.
They eradicated good Jazz and left the awful Smooth Jazz behind.

Robert Comsol August 5 2013 08:07 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

T'Girl wrote: (Post 8472769)
Would education be free? It's never mention one way or the other on the show. Starfleet Academy training would come in exchange for agreeing to time in service. Wesley's ship board education, and Jake's home schooling would come from being dependants of Starfleet personnel. Part of the contract.

I had always considered Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future in TOS and TNG to be a rare utopian one.

I'd consider it a sad thing if people still were to pay for education and in general if the size of your wallet were to determine what you can or cannot do.

Ideally, in a positive futuristic society the skills and preferences an individual has should determine the career and not money. ;)

Bob

scotpens August 5 2013 09:22 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

Bad thoughts wrote: (Post 8472883)
The ability to achieve Star Trek economics is, of course, debatable.

Indeed it is. Frequently. Very frequently. :p

JirinPanthosa August 7 2013 12:37 AM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
I do believe in Star Trek education is free, and I do believe that students are encouraged to follow their dreams, but here's the thing.

Everybody I know who has a good job once had a terrible job. They once lived off crappy wages where they could barely make ends meet. Everybody I know who was unwilling to take any job that wasn't exactly what their education prepared them for lives with their parents.

There's no reason to think things are any different in the future. You start out doing the crappy jobs nobody else to do, then you prove you're a hard worker and get a better job later.

So just like modern day, people who get out of school and expect to immediately get their dream job are always disappointed.

Melakon August 7 2013 12:55 AM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

Bad thoughts wrote: (Post 8472883)
Quote:

T'Girl wrote: (Post 8472769)
Well they still have jazz.

They eradicated good Jazz and left the awful Smooth Jazz behind.

They still play the good jazz on Brubeck IV.

Bad Thoughts August 7 2013 01:10 AM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

Melakon wrote: (Post 8479198)
Quote:

Bad thoughts wrote: (Post 8472883)
Quote:

T'Girl wrote: (Post 8472769)
Well they still have jazz.

They eradicated good Jazz and left the awful Smooth Jazz behind.

They still play the good jazz on Brubeck IV.

A pale imitation of what they have in the Sun Ra System.

R. Star August 7 2013 01:45 AM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
I like Andorian blues the best. ;) [/bad pun!]

marksound August 7 2013 02:34 AM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Recently I've heard several news stories of millennials (I hate categorizing people) living with their parents because they don't see a clear way to self-sufficiency. The situation these people find themselves in isn't that far removed from their parents' and grandparents' situations when they first ventured out on their own.

Life is hard. If anyone has told you otherwise, they were wrong. That's not necessarily a bad thing. We (supposedly) learn from hardship and it makes us get creative. It is amazing what a person can accomplish when he knows there is no safety net. Nietzsche's line is often quoted, and it's true. If you don't give in and realize that tomorrow is a new day to try again, you will be stronger for it. Don't repeat yesterday's failure. Try something different.

I hear a lot of young people say that they can't be successful because they can't get the job they want. That may be so, but it's not the end of the world. You can be successful in anything you do, as long as you do it with enthusiasm and have a never say die attitude. You might not ever be rich, and you might have to struggle all your life. But guess what? Money doesn't buy you happiness. You can be happy with whatever cards life deals you. It's all about your attitude.

A lot of people have become wealthy from an idea. Everyone has ideas, all the time. What can you do that no one else does? Nothing? Well, what can you do better than someone else? Take that idea and run with it. It doesn't have to be a huge monetary investment. It just has to be unique, and each and every one of us has those unique ideas.

My daughter-in-law started a clothing company based on an idea. She's in her 3rd year now and has several local distributors plus sales from her website. I started a business about a year and a half ago based on an idea and am now shipping my stuff all over the world. Neither of us had any capital or investors, just an idea and a little disposable income.

If you are waiting for a government to give you a comfortable life, you'll have a long, long wait. No government has ever done that. Success in life is up to you, and it's up to do your best.

There will always be people who can't make it on their own. We owe it to them to help them achieve their potential, and to be there for them when they fall. "The poor will always be with you."

When we see a poor or homeless person on the street, some of us say "We must create taxpayer-funded programs to help that person." Others of us say "We need to help that person help himself." It's our individual responsibility to prop them up and encourage them to find their strengths, and take care of them if they just can't do it.

No government has ever, and will never, take the place of this individual responsibility.

Don't be discouraged by your economic situation. You have talents you haven't even dreamed of yet, and you will be successful if you keep a clear head and work hard.

(This will be an unpopular post, but that's ok. I'm used to being unpopular.)

R. Star August 7 2013 02:36 AM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
^

Well said. :techman:

1001001 August 7 2013 02:23 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Just a friendly reminder that, in this forum, the discussion should stick to issues in the Star Trek universe.

The ideal future portrayed in Star Trek is certainly a fair subject for discussion.

Let's not veer too far off that path.

Thanks.

:techman:

iguana_tonante August 7 2013 03:11 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

Carcazoid wrote: (Post 8479600)
(I hate categorizing people)

:lol:

JirinPanthosa August 7 2013 09:32 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
Quote:

Carcazoid wrote: (Post 8479600)
Recently I've heard several news stories of millennials (I hate categorizing people) living with their parents because they don't see a clear way to self-sufficiency. The situation these people find themselves in isn't that far removed from their parents' and grandparents' situations when they first ventured out on their own.

Is it that they don't see a clear way to self-sufficiency, or is it that they see video games, internet, TV, HBO, cigarettes and beer as being part of basic living expenses?

I pretty much agree with your post. There are so many young people with bachelors degrees begging for money on the street because they say "I have a BA, I shouldn't have to work at Starbucks."

My bachelors degree was in psychology. For a year and a half I applied exclusively to research assistant jobs and mooched off my parents because I felt exactly that way, that I was owed the career I wanted.

Then I got a part time job counting inventory and started a masters program in IT. I worked hard at that job and worked hard at school, got my IT degree, and now I'm a software engineer.

In the 1990s we kind of decided that education was all about exploring the child's self esteem, so they all got the strange idea that the world revolved around their feelings.

You can have the career you want. You just need to work way harder than you think you do and take jobs you don't want in the mean time. Five years working hard at a menial part time job makes a much better resume than five years of living at home.

RAMA August 7 2013 11:55 PM

Re: Something To Work Towards
 
While we can go in different directions, Gene Roddenberry's end product of a positive vision of the future is more possible than it ever has been, but the route it will take to get there is likely very different than the Roddenberry vision.

RAMA


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