What Happened When the Pope Mets Star Trek

I think this is what Amazon would call a statistically improbable phrase.

I could not figure out why Enterprise failed. I really liked the show but only four seasons a was a little on the short side. OF course I missed most of the second season because I did not have TV access. I manage to live in the middle of nowhere of the frozen tundra and we only receive on channel. So my family and I do not watch a lot of TV. I finally received the 2nd season of Enterprise and started watching the show.

We had a lot of fun watching Enterprise. The joke when it came out was, Star Trek has no enemies in the future so they have to go backwards in time to find enemies. Well it happened Star Trek: Enterprise went back in time to find new people to fight.

Here is the weird part. They really did not fight.

In the episode Marauders (season 2 episode 6) the crew comes to this planet to buy some ore so they can replenish the supply. The local people will not sell because the Klingons are asking for the ore as 'protection money' or some sort of arrangement. Well Capt. Archer gets on the high horse saying this wrong. Is it wrong . . . of course it is.

Why is it wrong . . . because it violates one of the two principles of common or natural law. The first is: Do all you have agreed to do. The second is: Do not encroach on another's property. All religions agree and many governments agree (I am not to sure the US does anymore).

So Archer convinces the people to fight back against the Klingons. Good idea, nay, a great idea. So the people and Archer set a trap.

I think the good trap would be: stay near the beam down point and kill all of them as soon as they beam down. The element of surprise is on your side. The losses will be small if any and the bad people will be gone and no longer stealing and terrorizing your people.

Well, this is not the Enterprise tactic. They set a trap and do not harm anyone. The Klingons get embarrassed and beam back up to the ship. They leave and are never heard from again.

Yeah, right.

No wonder Enterprise failed. Enterprise writing staff horridly violated character. The next scene should be the Klingon warship launches a couple of torpedoes or disruptor bolts from the ship and wipes the little mining colony.

Why did Enterprise fail? Because they denied the realities of human behavior and believability. There are people in the world who are evil. There are people who will do evil because they enjoy doing evil. It is easier to be evil then to be good. Not all people can be reasoned with. But Enterprise did not want to offend our enlightened ideals of peace and brotherhood.

So how does the Pope fit into all this? Look at how shallow we have become. The pope gives a lecture on faith and reason. This would be an interesting lecture to hear. During this lecture he quoted a Byzantine emperor speaking with a Persian Muslim. The Byzantine emperor said some mean things about Islam.

All the Pope did was quote the passage and gave a preface saying this is from the Byzantine side . . . then he quoted the whole passage.

People are upset because he did not say the emperor was a bad person for saying these mean things to his enemy at a time of war.

Have people become so shallow? and so thin-skinned that one cannot take a historical quote. Speaking as a history person. The classroom can become a dangerous place. IT would seem that the teacher should repudiate everything anyone says or does, just to be safe.