Thread by @JesseHeinig

Happy #StarTrekDay!

Let's celebrate the bright future that Star Trek envisions for us - all of us, together.

Over fifty years ago we were introduced to the idea of a future in which humanity had learned to sort out its problems and work together.

(A thread.) @StarTrek

Through the lens of space travel we explored our own challenges as people, and confronted our own problems - sometimes metaphorically, sometimes directly.

Today, that tradition carries on with the various Star Trek shows, movies, books, and games.

We imagine a bright future for everyone - one in which we try to solve issues with science and diplomacy first. One in which we can meet the material and emotional needs of people and give everyone equal footing in our society.

Of course, it's not a perfect future. People still suffer trauma and fall between the cracks. But it's one in which we try to help lift those people up again and we confront the problems in our society.

People sometimes talk about "Gene's Vision." That such-and-such show isn't "Gene's Vision" or that thus-and-such story wouldn't fit "Gene's Vision."

But instead, let's talk about "Your Vision."

Gene Roddenberry created a story in which everyone was invited to participate - no matter their heritage, their gender, their skin color or place of origin or any number of other things that people use to divide each other up. In doing so he opened a door and invited us in.

Star Trek is a continuing mission. Part of that mission - to seek out new life forms and new civilizations - reflects back on us, to find the people in our own lives who haven't been seen, who aren't represented, whose voices aren't heard. The show reflects its times.

Thus, the vision for Star Trek is a moving target. Years ago it was novel, even revolutionary, to show Black people working in space - in positions of authority, even. Russians working side by side with "us." Asian people with important roles.

Later Star Trek envisioned and started to show people who loved differently, who expressed gender differently, who had different thoughts about bodies and minds and how we show who we are.

Sometimes clumsy at first - Star Trek has made mistakes. But as the show tells us, when we see a problem, we keep trying to tackle it until we can fix it. Until we can make things better.

So "Gene's Vision" is a story in which we are better tomorrow than we are today. And that's where "Your Vision" comes in.

Because how we get there depends on you. It depends on how you treat people who aren't like you. It depends on you accepting their inclusion.

Your vision looks around and see the world that you live in, but what do you see when you look at people who are not like you? Who have been ignored or harmed, or for whom our society likes to pretend that they don't exist?

Your vision needs to see everyone - "to seek out" them.

Because Star Trek moves forward only as we move forward - as we make each day a better one than the last, one in which we are responsible for speaking and acting in ways that include more people in the bright future that we imagine.

A better future can only happen when we're all part of it. These people who aren't like you exist. They're real - in the real world that we live in. They deserve to be in the better tomorrow that we imagine, too.

So your vision needs to include them. Welcome them.

Gene's Vision was "we can make a better tomorrow." But he invited you to use your vision to keep making that happen, every day. To make it better even than what he gave us at the start. Gene is no longer with us, so now it's up to us. Up to you.

Make it so.

P.S. Don't forget #StarTrekUnitedGives . A dollar may seem like a drop in the bucket, but many drops can fill a bucket!