While this is a thoughtful piece, it's ultimately misguided. Star Trek is a decades-old, generational franchise, built and maintained by hundreds of writers, ac

While this is a thoughtful piece, it's ultimately misguided. Star Trek is a decades-old, generational franchise, built and maintained by hundreds of writers, actors, producers and directors. There is not single person or "voice" that speaks for Star Trek. With such an expansive cannon, it is trivial to pick and choose story lines and themes to support any conjecture or criticism. Like any other cultural artifact, Star Trek has taken on the flavor and zeitgeist of a given era. Including the at times sexist, racist and xenophobic attitudes of the day. Where the article gets things particularly wrong is exploration in Star Trek. The European exploration of the Americas was premised on exploitation - to find new worlds an peoples to conquer and dominate. It didn't see foreign peoples as human, but as resources to be mined, extracted and refined. Contrast with Star Trek: aliens are almost always extended the hand of friendship at first contact. They are considered self-determined individuals who can become partners in science or trade, if they are capable. The Federation regulates it's interactions with aliens via the Prime Directive. A Directive that is designed to protect the "other" and maximize their independence and well-being. To declare this an analog with European conquest is laughable.