34: Gotta Represent

Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast

Nationalism. It is a commonly-held belief that humans in the 23rd and 24th century world of Star Trek have progressed beyond nationalism. The Federation, however, is only one of many intra-galactic nation states. The Federation, the Romulan Empire, the Klingon Empire, and the Cardassian Empire each has its own "national" symbols, colors, political structure, and cultural values. To what extent has the Federation helped humanity transcend the need for nationalism, and to what extent is it still bound by nationalism but on a larger, galactic scale? In this episode of Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling debate the role of nationalism in the Star Trek universe, asking the fundamental question, "Is nationalism something to be transcended or to be embraced within the idealism of Star Trek's vision of the future?" Chapters Welcome to Episode 34 (00:02:02) Brexit and Withdrawing from the Federation (00:03:11) Bajoran Nationalism - To Join the Federation or not to Join (00:07:03) The Pros and Cons of Nationalism (00:09:44) Federation Nationalism or Trans-Nationalism? (00:12:05) The Causes and Forms of Nationalism (00:22:08) Tribalism and Origin Stories (00:25:46) 24th Century Swag - Trek.fm Nation! (00:42:18) Federation National Symbols and Rituals (00:48:24) Nationalism and Sports - Take Me Out to the Holosuite (00:51:53) Tragedy and Colonialism as Causes of Nationalism (00:59:17) Final Thoughts (01:10:14) Hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison Production Mike Morrison (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Elizabeth Janeway (Associate Producer) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm