Trouble in Paradise

The following scene contains a salient soliloquy... well, more like an angry rant by Commander Sisko after an infuriating talk with his superior officer. I think it encapsulates rather effectively some of the problems that come with utopia. You heard me right. Problems of utopia.

DS9 was one of the few shows that focused on other, less-evolved civilizations over a long period of time. In other series, the discovery of and encounter with other, alien cultures happens in virtually every episode, and it can often be a cautionary social tale, but its exposure seldom lasted longer than a single episode. And while DS9 can seem darker for focusing on a less idyllic culture than the Federation, it also shows us the cracks in even the Federation's foundation at times.


This does not mean that the utopia of earth is actually less perfect. It does, however, suggest that its near-perfection is itself a weakness at times. Domesticated dogs don't understand what life is like for the wolves and it is easy to lose sight of the day-to-day struggles others still experience when all your needs are met. As Sisko puts it, "It's easy to be a saint in paradise."

First Season Thoughts: Part 2 (Eminent Domain)

S1:E15 - Progress: Major Kira, the Bajoran liason officer and second in command of DS9 is sent to the Bajoran moon Jeraddo to convince a small group of holdouts to relocate to Bajor to make way for an energy project that will make the moon uninhabitable. As a classic morality play, this episode brings up several ethical questions about social good when it comes in conflict with individual good.

The holdout group is led by a cantankerous, old, Bajoran man named Mullibok. He and his kiln escaped their Cardassian oppressors to live in relative peace and tranquility with a self-maintained subsistence farm on Jeraddo. But the Federation is now helping Bajor with a project that involves tapping the geo-thermal energy of he moon's core to provide power to hundreds of thousands of Bajorans on Bajor. Unfortunately, this process is so disruptive to the crust of the moon, it releases poisonous gasses into the atmosphere. Mullibok is aware of the risks but stubbornly refuses to leave his home, postponing the project indefinitely.

Kira becomes close with Mullibok and sympathizes with him, having clung to irrational hope herself while serving in the resistance. In the end, the ethical questions are never answered and Kira takes the drastic step of burning down his home and beaming him away from the moon's surface.

Spock once famously pronounced the utilitarian ideals of the Federation when he said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." While this choice can present itself in clear ways, as when Spock sacrificed his own life to save those of the Enterprise crew, there are still far more ambiguous and problematic issues that arise from that idea. Some of which fly in the face of our modern conception of democracy and freedom. If anything is to be gleaned from the episode, it is perhaps that even centuries later we will be debating eminent domain and New Hampshire farmers will still be blocking Northern Pass well into the 24th Century.