James Tiberius Kirk, Neocon

Occasional Reason contributor Paul Cantor, author of Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization, being interviewed by Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture:

The Prime Directive really takes us to the heart of the paradox of Star Trek. The United Federation of Planets is committed to non-interference in the affairs of other planets; Captain Kirk and his crew are not supposed to change the way of life of other civilizations. But, of course, they do it every episode–they just go right through the galaxy destroying one functioning civilization after another. I show that Kirk has a particular hostility to any civilization that smacks of theocracy or aristocracy. What it comes down to is this: the Enterprise will not interfere in a planetary civilization–provided that it looks just like John F. Kennedy's 1960s America. But if it does not, it's time to get out the phasers and blast away–to take down the Greek god Apollo, for example.

Star Trek provides a perfect reflection of the paradoxes of America's foreign policy–the non-democratic imposition of democracy around the world. The Enterprise was out to make the galaxy safe for democracy–and it would destroy any civilization that stood in its way. Gene Roddenberry's message was clear: woe to any planet not ruled by a liberal democrat.