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.