Friday, September 08, 2006

It's all Kirk's fault

In today's (London) Times, Patrick West argues that America's problems today are due to its following Star Trek's lead.
Thanks to a process of osmosis from perennial reruns, Star Trek has propagated the belief that it is proper to interfere in other societies, that it is America's duty to assume the role of (inter-)world policeman, and to correct the errant ways of other cultures – for their own good. And Spock was to Kirk what Blair is to Bush, a lackey willing to assist his master in his curious mission that seemingly has no specific objective.
I'm sure some editor at the Times thought this was cleverly funny in a, you know, "Americans and Star Trek ha ha ha" sort of way. Well, it's neither funny nor clever. Just stupid. A waste of time, ink and paper (or server space if you're reading it online).

West knows nothing of Star Trek and I wouldn't give much for his opinion on anything else either.