I watch the watchers!

If you've never seen the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Who Watches The Watchers", you're missing out. It deals with an accident that causes a violation of the Prime Directive, and nearly sets off a period of religious violence on a primitive world.

For a long time I've been a fan of the Nitpicker's Guides. In the first of the TNG Nitpicker's Guides, published in 1993, Phil Farrand is obviously offended by this episode and goes on an extended rant:

The Star Trek genre has traditionally been "message" television. Beginning with the original Star Trek series, Gene Roddenberry used futuristic settings to deal with sensitive topics. For instance, to demonstrate the stupidity of racism, he put two men on display. Both of them had two-tone skin -- half black, half white. However, one had the black skin on the right side while the other had the black skin on the left side. This difference became a source of unending conflict and eventually destroyed their world. This innovative setting allowed the viewer to see racism in a new light -- to evaluate it without the interference of predispositions.

Star Trek: The Next Generation carries on this tradition to some extent. The creators attempt to deal with difficult topics in meaningful ways. Occasionally, however, the series has all the subtlety of a placard emblazoned with, "Message, people. Here comes the message! Make sure you don't miss THE MESSAGE." In short, the series can get heavy-handed.

This episode is a good example. Its message can be summarized in two statements. First, the creators propose that any belief in one or more supernatural beings is bad. Picard says that reviving the Mintakan belief in the overseers would send them back to the "dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear." (I guess we know how the writers feel about belief in the supernatural.) Second, the creators of this episode propose that a codified framework will prevent religious belief from degenerating into cacophony. Dr. Barron, the anthropological expert in this episode, tells Picard that without a rule book the Mintakan belief could degenerate into "inquisitions, holy wars ... chaos."

Human history proves the falsehood of this second statement. Both Christianity and Islam have highly codified beliefs. Yet, at times, both have engaged in inquisitions and holy wars. Religious abuse doesn't occur because of a rule book. It occurs because individuals thrive on controlling others. This desire for control extends beyond supernatural belief systems. It permeates every level of our society -- from government to the home.

In addition, a Gallup poll conducted in 1986 showed that 94 percent of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit. (The Gallup organization has not conducted a "belief in God" survey since that time.) Therefore, the first message statement -- that all belief in the supernatural is bad, superstitious, and ignorant -- effectively classifies the great majority of Americans as dolts.

Interestingly enough, the Gallup organization conducted a survey in 1958 regarding how people felt about interracial marriage. 94 percent of white Americans opposed interracial marriage at the time. Does that mean Gene Roddenberry was wrong to do his episode ten years later with the half black, half white people? Or might the morality of an issue be uncorrelated with the issue's public support?

I suspect the reason that this episode got so deep under Phil's skin is because it provides an equally believable explanation for Jesus. Jesus might not have necessarily been divine... he could have just been a starship captain. Unfortunately for Christians, this is an irrefutable argument.

(Another question this episode brings up is, who's better, God or Picard? I'm going with Kirk.)