(SPOILERS ahead) To me, the best thing about Star Trek is its moral and ethical tales, and DS9 raises some very dep ethical questions and offers some important insights. As one example, there are 4 episodes of DS9 that address collaboration with fascism. Necessary Evil The Collaborator Wrongs Darker Than…

Chess vs Checkers and Systemic Racism It is often said, metaphorically, that one leader or political party is playing chess while another is playing checkers — the implication that the former is being clever and thinking several steps ahead. There is another metaphor which can be made: in chess, White always goes first, while in checkers…

An Open Letter to a Friend and to all Those Who Think It Doesn’t Matter Who You Vote For Guinevere Nell This is an open letter to a certain friend, but inspired also by other friends and online acquaintances, as well as an unfortunately large portion of the public who…

by Guinevere L Nell, warning: spoilers, from a 1990s show The first time or two that I saw the Star Trek DS9 episode Sanctuary, I felt the ire and pity of Haneek’s words to Kira at the end, and he accusation that Bajor was frightened and suspicious after 50 years…

Dear rep Meijer, I read the recent article in The Atlantic about you and your Republican colleagues who voted for impeachment with interest. You are quoted in it describing why you think that many in your party have stood by Trump and his Big Lie even while knowing it is…

In 2016, a lot of people were sick of politicians, and voted for Trump as an outsider. He spoke differently from any previous president, was willing to speak his mind, and people saw this as authentic. Since then, people have come to see that he has not been truthful about…