On #StarTrekDay I reflect on 55 years of what trek means to me

I think about Star Trek a lot.

I don’t have data on that statement, but if I did, I would imagine the percentage of time I spend thinking about Trek on some level would be well north of seventy-five percent of my waking time. In all this time spent thinking about something that inhabits the collective imagination of so many fans like myself, I find that I spend more time focusing on the underlying message that Gene was presenting to the world back in 1966 with the launch of the original series.

Being born in 1973, I of course didn’t watch TOS during its original airing. Instead learning of the show afterwards in syndication. Even then, my love affair with Trek didn’t begin in earnest until The Next Generation came out in 1987. Growing up back then, TNG was appointment television in our home. I’ve talked about this history in my Nichelle Nichols post, so I won’t go into further detail here.

Suffice to say, Star Trek has many levels of meaning to me and continues to, even after fifty-five years.

So what does Star Trek mean to me?

I feel like this question could be answered best with a quote from Gene himself. Now granted, this statement isn’t the singular ideology by which Star Trek has made its mark with me over time, but I this message is the best “forward facing” concept of what Trek aspires to be.

The idea that humankind can grow to a level as a species that we no longer allow differences to divide us, but rather it is that very thing that brings us together and pushes us to be greater than we are individually. All the while still maintaining and celebrating that individuality.

To me, this is the core of what makes Star Trek what it is. And it’s the core of why I have loved being a fan all these years.

So as we look back today on #StarTrekDay to the past and over half a century of this wonderful thing that so many of us have shared, I will turn to the next half century. As I continue to hope that we can work to make forward progress to that goal, I will keep watching, keep hoping, and ultimately just be better.

Happy #StarTrekDay LLAP!