We are on on the cusp of the Age of Aquarius. DClaw1 perfectly described the energy that is growing stronger day by day and it will dominate the next two thousand years. Just in the proverbial nick of time, too.

We are like passengers on a starship emerging from 2,000 years of the foggy mysticism and uncertainty that has characterized the Age of Pisces that is now in its death throes. Fear of the growing power of reason is fueling the fundamentalist movements, who by their irrational excesses, only succeed in assuring their demise.

Behold the golden dawn.

introvertgirl:

our future is far more likely to look like Blade Runner than Star Trek.

Star Trek includes a Blade Runner-like near feature. The turning point is the Bell Riots, which result from a violation of the timeline by Sisko & crew:

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Bell_Riots

So, it's not an either/or situation.

It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil. — Aristotle

Don't let's get started in a Trekkie debate. The episode you're referencing is from DS9, yes? Which would make it a sort of reverse history. A better reference is the book "Strangers from the Sky," about the initial contact in the 21st century and the watershed moment of conquering or failing to conquer fear of the future and the unknown (sound familiar?). It was published in the 80s, but was recently republished as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/think-outside-rolodex-by-digby-atrios.html

Digby:

From the silly travel office flap in 1993 until David Broder's heinous little screed yesterday, there is a long continuum of establishment petulance, confusion, triviality and error. If it isn't their proximity to those who are spinning them, I can only assume that they are either dumb, craven or Republican. It's got to be something.

Which reminds me. I have never been able to figure out what Travelgate was supposed to be about. The threat to the Constitution was supposed to be what, exactly? The criminal conspiracy was supposed to be what, exactly?

I must admit, that I never really tried that hard to figure it out. But, still. Isn't that supposed to be the whole point of a scandal? It's simple to understand, as opposed to global warming, the federal deficit, etc.

The only I could understand about Travelgate is that it touched on the lives of the White House press corps, and that upset them.

I'm a voortrekker, if you please. Grey lensmen, brassards of peace, Barsoomian rykors, electric sheep. None of these bloodless liberal valhallas for me, thank you.

And yet, and yet....

IntrovertGirl,

A Star Trek novel? You're kidding, right?

No, really, my point was about the intersection of the visions. And if you look at the pictures at the link I provided (click them to enlarge) you'll see in a flash that there's a similar social vision encoded just in how things look.

I know this isn't news to you. But anyone can click on the images and see it at a glance. This is canonical, accessible stuff.

My question: why does it take so long for Americans to get it? How did and DO so many people in Washington and in the country NOT understand the continuing hatred many in Colonial countries, past and present, feel towards the colonialists? Can the reason be an appalling lack of education about world history, even in the elite's schools? As someone from one of those countries, from the first moment of 9-11, I understood why Bin Laden had committed this act of revenge and chosen this venue. How could the Congress have been so falsely convinced of the Administration's infantile claims of WMDs if not because of a profound xenophobia and ignorance of world history at the highest levels of government and in the population at large. Colonialism is all about taking things. In th is case, oil, as we know. Bin Laden was from Yemen, for God's sake, a country that emerged after the War seething from a history of British occupation. At one point, his father wanted to transform trucks in his construction company into tanks for the Palestinians! Iraqi's will never accept American occupation. The Dems are doing the troops a favor. Who amongst them wouldn't want to get out of there!

>>A Star Trek novel? You're kidding, right?<<

No, I'm not, but you brought up one of the less good TV series (and the book is actually pretty good if you like sci fi), which was brought along much later in the Star Trek "history." Sorry!

I realize what you're saying, but my point was that the Star Trek image is of a future that is clean, bright, well-ordered, lacking in financial strife ... utopia despite the minor conflicts. Blade Runner is grittier, and doesn't indicate a possible squeaky clean Star Trek future.

I think Orwell and just about anyone else at the time -- hell, even Lenin before him -- regarded the libertarian socialists, anarchocommunists, etc., as 'more' left (in those crude terms) than Communists. (I can't seem this moment to find the page the letter was on, it's a big thread.)

The major point in Homage to Catalonia's post-revolution sections was how the actual libertarian and socialist revolutionaries in Spain were undercut by the rigid and authoritarian Communists, who (in this view, and in my own view) were serving Stalin's political interests, since one of the things Stalin *never* wanted was any more successful leftist revolution which was anti-authoritarian, otherwise his argument that the USSR's way was the only way to go was absolute bunk, especially not a democratic socialist state in the middle of Europe.

The major point here being that though there are certainly huge restrictions placed by reality upon where we are and where we may proceed in the near future, there should certainly be no ridiculous locks placed upon our minds to convince us that the ultimate and highest development of humankind is to forever have economies in the hands of a comparatively few wealthy individuals and corporations.

If that is the end and highest result of human social evolution, then may some extraterrestrials make better use of our planet than we have.

IntrovertGirl:

:>>A Star Trek novel? You're kidding, right?<<

No, I'm not, but you brought up one of the less good TV series

Pistols at 50 paces, girl.

Best. Star Trek. Ever.

Not even close to being close.

(and the book is actually pretty good if you like sci fi),

As a writer myself, of course I respect novels. I was kidding myself, when I wrote "You're kidding, right?" Or rather, I was 3/4ths-kidding, since cannonical order clearly stands for a lot when we're talking about a cultural phenomena such as Star Trek.

which was brought along much later in the Star Trek "history." Sorry!

Which means what, exactly, in terms of the point at issue???

I realize what you're saying, but my point was that the Star Trek image is of a future that is clean, bright, well-ordered, lacking in financial strife ... utopia despite the minor conflicts. Blade Runner is grittier, and doesn't indicate a possible squeaky clean Star Trek future.

And my point is that the "Bell Riots" interpolation into the Star Trek timeline directly refutes that presumption. That's why it's relevant, and "Strangers from the Sky" is not.

...565,000 s.f. of big-box stores and other retail, on 130 acres, including wetlands.

jm, just an off-topic note on this, from one who fights that same fight in another area of the country. Fighting specific developments after plans have been drawn up and the "influence" has already been inserted is difficult and rarely successful, in my experience.

A better, less maddening tack for you may be to partner up with a local Land Trust--become a member, volunteer, or join their board. There must be many small regional land trusts in your neck of the woods. These are non-profit organizations that promote land conservation and prevent unwanted development, and enable significant tax savings for landowners in the process.