3. Diversity, Religion, and Politics
Deep Space Nine ended its run two years before 9/11, but it feels as much shaped by that event as its spiritual successor, Battlestar Galacatica. Terrorism, religious freedom, civil rights versus national security, and learning to accept a more culturally diverse world are at the core of DS9. What it has to say on those issues isn't so much daring as it is refreshingly honest. I'm sure that rubbed some people the wrong way. Maybe it was the writers, maybe it was the emotional distance, or maybe we really were living in a simpler age - but Deep Space Nine came to very different conclusions about issues that would soon preoccupy the world. Take its view on terrorism. In the world of Deep Space Nine, terrorism isn't necessarily an immoral act. It's just another weapon of war, its ethics based on its use and the cause. Kira was a terrorist, who used the only weapons available to her. Kira wasn't terribly proud of her actions, but she did what she thought was right. During DS9's final episodes, she went back to using terror tactics to liberate Cardassia (seriously, who saw that coming...). If DS9 came to an end in 2007 instead of 1999, I doubt Kira would be blowing up buildings in a public square and still be considered a hero. As a counterpoint to this, Deep Space draws a hard line on how a liberal society should react to terrorism. The two-episode arc
Homefront and
Paradise Lost argue that we can't curtail our civil liberties to secure our borders. The writers made this point loud and clear ... so clear, in fact, that they rarely went back to that well. This allowed DS9's writers to focus on other things. If Deep Space should be celebrated for anything, it should be for creating a wildly diverse society that learns to live with each other. Sure, most of these clashing cultures are aliens - but fans know that everybody's human in Star Trek. Captain Sisko had to balance his ideals while accepting the values of several wildly different cultures. Change came slowly on DS9 - and some fans didn't care for aliens with weird noses bickering with aliens with weird ears. But watching these societies come to understand each other is classic Trek.