Star Trek=Patriotism

Last month I mentioned a story about a teach who reprimanded a student for reciting the "starfleet" pledge instead of the Pledge of Allegiance. Included was some commentary about how patriotic Star Trek was already.

If that wasn't convincing, this should be.

I

n the shows from the ’60s, globalization takes the form of Americanization of the world. Gilligan’s Island, for instance, suggests that you can take a representative group of Americans, drop them anywhere on the planet, and they’ll end up recreating an image of the United States. You see all the elements of specifically American self-confidence in Star Trek, too. There, American democracy is "galacticized." In one out of two episodes, Capt. Kirk shows up and ruins any regime he encounters, especially if it smacks of aristocracy or theocracy.

Link to the book.