Same thing here. I rewatched it as an adult a few years ago and suddenly the idealism and professionalism and lowkey-utopianism leapt out at me, and like you I

Same thing here. I rewatched it as an adult a few years ago and suddenly the idealism and professionalism and lowkey-utopianism leapt out at me, and like you I realized that these things had stayed with me since high school. It's given me a new appreciation for how important it is for children to grow up with truly idealistic visions in their cultural surroundings. It's terrible that in these times, there's no TNG equivalent that I'm aware of. By the way, one TNGie to another: try to hold off on that disappointment. As a species we're just starting to get the hang of rationality, the scientific mindset, and self-governance. We're babies. It'll take a long time, we just need to try not to do any irreversible damage before we get where we're going.