Captain’s Log, Stardate 246411.0113
A Private Little War
A
scientific mission undertaken by the Enterprise on the planet Neural goes awry
when Kirk discovers that the villagers have come into possession of more
advanced weapons than he believes they should have at that point in their
development. After some investigation, McCoy and Kirk discover that the
Klingons have been supplying weapons to a single tribe on the planet. This
forces the crew of the Enterprise into an ethical dilemma—should they intervene
with weapons of their own to restore the balance of power or refrain and risk a
genocide of those without advanced arms.
This
episode, written while the Vietnam War was still in progress, speaks heavily to
imperialist themes, especially those relating to the idea of “proxy war.” The
dilemma faced by Kirk and McCoy is similar to that faced by powers involved in
the Cold War: Arming the people of a neutral territory in order to fight wars
on their behalf would weaken the Federation’s rivals, the Klingons and
reinforce the balance of power. However, this brings up moral concerns relating
to the ethics of interfering with natural development and using a sovereign
people as little more than glorified weapons in an indirect war. Considering that intervention would possibly save lives, could it be
justified to supply weapons or do the costs outweigh the benefits?
the episode had very interesting historical content and i found that very interest how star trek relates to what was going on at the time very interest but this one was my favorite out of the two.
ReplyDeleteI think that they should have given the "Hill People" weapons and the ability to make them, but then interfere no more and let them learn their own improvements to the weapons instead of giving them advancements. I was also VERY annoyed at the ending to this episode.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, but in my opinion, we cannot intervene their war, because whoever we help, will broke the balance of the war. This cannot be the justified. If we help one, the other will lose.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it would have been nice to know what happened to the planet, considering that the Klingons still occupied the planet. I also would have liked to know who won the war, but again the episode ended before that knowledge could be obtained. In my opinion the ending definitely could have been done better and whether the enterprise sent down the weapons would have been revealed.
ReplyDeleteI understand Kirk's reasons for giving the weapons to the Hill people, but I believe that his reasoning for giving the guns to the Hill people was not based upon wether it was the right thing to do, but on his own personal biases towards the klingons, and his desire to help his friend even if that meant disobeying the prime directive. He also talked about the Vietnam war, and that the only solution to the conflict was to arm both sides with equal weapons, which means the writers believed that the only solution to the Vietnam war was to arm both sides and let them fight each other.
ReplyDeleteAnother quite intriguing episode. I liked the biblical and historical references present throughout the episode. It's interesting to discuss which Star Trek character takes the place of who in the biblical story, and the Vietnam War was very clearly the main inspiration. However, I didn't enjoy this episode as much as certain others.
ReplyDeleteI think they shouldn't give advanced weapons to them.They should teach them technology and knowledge, rather than give them weapons to war
ReplyDeleteI think it would have been better to let the civilization sort things out without the interference of another party. Although it may be the less desirable choice, it is preferable to allows the civilization to develop and adapt to any and all problems it may face in its future.
ReplyDeleteThey are in a very complex dilemma because there is a moral defense for various standpoints on the argument. A definitive "right" likely does not exist in this situation but perhaps it would have been best to intervene directly with the Klingons since they were the original suppliers of the weaponry, without which the war would die off.
ReplyDeleteI think that not providing the developing civilization with weapons would be the best choice because it could prevent warfare. Although it could mean one group possibly being wiped out, it could prevent many problems.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though if you were certain that providing weapons to the Hill People would save lives, you should do it and it would be morally wrong not to. Weapons have a negative connotation, but can be used to create peace and save lives. Someone might say you are fighting fire with fire, but if that puts out the fire, who cares how it's done?
ReplyDeleteI feel that the advancement of evolution to justify the loss of life is never a good choice, and I would let evolution run its course. For the Klingons to use the planet of Neural as a future outpost by itself is bad, but for Kirk to supply weapons to the natives is even worse because even if the planet were to eventually become Klingon, Kirk wouldn't put his job or Bones' job in danger. In my opinion, it should have been the responsibility of the Enterprise to report the Klingon tampering of Neural to the Federation and let them deal with it.
ReplyDelete