Prime Directive Debate

[ProperMuzik]

The prime directive is more what you call guidelines than actual rules.

[NATESOR]

a dilemerr..

[AliTubelog]

im glad that cunt of a doctor didnt stay for long. Crusher ftw. fuck that other lady

[Amar7605]

Pulaski was just as eager to get some grub, too!

And I wonder why they aren't duscussing this in the observation lounge?

[cpc28655]

@Amar7605 I imagine this scene was shot in picard's quarters to give it an "off the record" feel.

[Amar7605]

@cpc28655 Or perhaps the observation lounge was booked for a wedding reception or something.

[SoloWing808]

Which episode is this?

[piratebri]

Data once again outperforming the rest of the bridge crew.

[TheJboy88]

I've always had an issue with the Prime Directive.

Not from an ideological standpoint of course. After all, it was created to prevent the exploitation of less-advanced species, something that we would consider moral given the history of the world.

But my problem is that over the course of Star Trek as a whole it became something that if frankly ugly when viewed by people like me. Refusing the help or do anything while terrible things happen to others when you can stop it.

[tuseroni]

@TheJboy88 well that is one of the things covered in this clip, because we are not gods we cannot know consequences our "help" can bring to a society not ready to receive it. there have been many episodes in the various series where they have broken the prime directive in order to help someone and in turn caused much more harm than had they simply ignored it or someone tried to tweak the prime directive supplying arms to both sides to keep one from oppressing the other.

[tuseroni]

@TheJboy88 (cont)neutrality isnt as easy as people like to think, it takes courage to remain neutral when pressed from all sides to interfere, to help one side or the other, its something america should consider going back to with their dealings in foreign relations. vietnam, korean war, golf war, golf war 2: war on terror, all wars we got into to "help" the people. neutrality lets them handle issues on their own, in their own way. whatever happens will be organic as it must be.

[Xantheus07]

@TheJboy88 Thats a simple way to look at it. They have the ability to make life much easier for thousands of races in the universe but then what path would those races take would it be their own? Sure bad things happen but you learn from them. Fixing others problems means they never learn to fix their own problems.

[fjccommish]

Pulaski is a lot like McCoy.

[Taylor13371337]

woah so theres 6 year old girls living on other planets? She even speaks english how convenient...

[talltom1973]

@Taylor13371337 they have a device called the universal translator. Not sure if it was mentioned in this episode, but they have mentioned it in others. This episode was forgettable, but I liked this scene.

[KittJT2]

Which episode was this again?

[DulferCarter]

@KittJT2 Is Star Trek Next Generation episode 2 called "PEN PALS" .

[Rayle75]

Fuck the Prime Directive. I find it ignorant, discriminatory, and yes, most certainly cowardly. And, to think that this is somehow an 'evolved' attitude of humanity is a little frightening.

If you have the power to help people, to help people survive and to live on, and you don't use it for that purpose, then you are a coward. There are ways to help people without changing their culture or their way of life, but the Federation doesn't do that simply because they are comfortable and safe

[JohnnyZenith]

@Rayle75 This is so well written. The prime directive is callous, often morally bankrupt, and well just plain wrong too often. How can a perfectly ethical directive be bent or overturned so many times if it isn't the case.

[Rayle75]

@JohnnyZenith I agree with the PD in spirit. Leave people to develop on thier own, sounds great. And yes, its sad that you can't save everyone, yes it is a terrible fact that the universe is cold and calous, but to simply allow an entire people, thier culture, thier history, the lessons they could teach the galaxy, to die, just so you can dodge some responsibility, there's someting wrong there. 'Life isn't fair' sounds great when you're the one not being affected. There has to be a happy medium.

[chefkoo]

@Rayle75 That's a hell of a bold statement. History has proven time and time again that interfering with less civilized cultures results in disastrous consequences whether they be well meaning or not. And your emotional stimulus doesn't make the prime directive any more correct or incorrect. It only makes it more or less palatable. Which is precisely the reason for the directive, to stop our emotions from guiding our judgements. Is it right or wrong? Who knows? I'm pretty sure you don't either.

[Rayle75]

@chefkoo If not for our emotions, we would make no progress, we would have very little to strive for. Curiosity is an emotion to, as is empathy, sympathy, understand and compassion, and these are emotions upon which the prime directive is based. So, if my emotions lead me to think that the PD is flawed (not wrong, but flawed), then, at least to me, that must be the case.

On a note, in conversation with someone else i already said that i didn't have the answer, all i have is a feeling to act upon

[Amar7605]

I don't know why I fing Geordi getting some food so funny!

[graveheart1138]

@Amar7605 You know, I'm feeling you on that one. Everyone this is having a big debate and all Geordi is thinking about is filling his belly!

[alexbaxthedarkside]

@graveheart1138 naa, I reckon its actually Geordie being dismissive of Riker's ridiculous statements about a cosmic plan and that they shouldn't lift a finger to help people in distress.

Ah well, the prime directive was invented for star trek to test the humanity of its characters :)

[graveheart1138]

@Amar7605 Also look at the way he gets up from his seat with lots of energy just to go and get that food!!! LOL

[chefkoo]

@graveheart1138 There was some friend chicken

[Hannodb1961]

@Amar7605 Never mind that. How did that buvette table get into the boardroom in the first place? One would think that, given the gravity of the situation, you don't want any distractions. Geordi: "We must save millions of.... MEATBALLS! Ohhhh!". Why not have the discussion in a jacuzzi on the holodeck, while they're at it. :P

[VendAve1]

Data allowed her "plea" to be heard on purpose.

[graveheart1138]

@VendAve1 LOL! It's so true!! It was all a part of his plan! Notice his face when the girl starts talking. It's like he's waiting for a reaction from the others!

[chefkoo]

2:10 which is exactly what the prime directive is trying to prevent you stupid bitch.

[DrSpooglemon]

Data has become more human than human...

[DrSpooglemon]

The prime directive is true stoicism...

[jimbopumbapigsticks]

Pulaski is such a douche.

I mean, accusing them of acting cowardly is the ultimate insult for a Klingon. With cultural (un)awareness like that, why is she let anywhere near the foreign policy decisions?

[packets1]

blah

[FaxModem1]

God, the pro-prime directive arguers are such pricks.

'If the prime directive/god/fate decrees that people will die, we should just watch and let them die. Lifting a finger to help might offend the almighty prime directive.'

[SentinelConvergence]

@FaxModem1 That may be true, but that fact that we may find something unpleasant or repugnant does not necessitate that that idea is not true.

[FaxModem1]

@SentinelConvergence Okay, so if you could stop an avalanche from destroying a town, or at least warn the town that an avalanche was coming. You wouldn't do it in fear that God/the Prime Directive/Master Yoda/the Easter Bunny had a plan to destroy that town?

[KarateKidX]

Don't they violate the prime directive every other episode?

[graveheart1138]

@KarateKidX LOL! Not as much as Kirk!

[MrHoppers002]

archer founded the prime directive

kirk just takes the prime directive and throws it out the window

picard and his crew always debate about the prime directive

sisko doesn't even bother with non warp species

janeway also violates the prime directive. but she does it because she's just stupid. lol

[NJpanther05]

@graveheart1138 Or Voyager

[pratt123]

@graveheart1138 Ha. Forget Kirk, Janeway breaks the Prime Directive at every chance she gets. She would rather break the Prime Directive instead of saving her crew.

Crappy writing FTW.

[Azakhiel]

@KarateKidX I think you're thinking about "Voyager".

[LordTyrannus]

@KarateKidX

No they don't and when they do there is a reason for it..did you even watch the video? Or did the entire argument escape you?

[asuch874]

On the show "Ancient Aliens" from history channel ancient astronaut came here and ancient people mistook them 4 angels and from that we have religion.

[Darrknox]

@asuch874, It doesn't quite work like that

[asuch874]

On a voyager episode another advanced aliens violated the PD (generally speaking) when they put up a force field around a group of very primitive group of "people"

[Trek001]

@asuch874 Or what about the season 1 episode of Voyager where the Aliens had technology to send the ship and crew home but refused because it would have violated THIER Prime Directive

[AmericanPoliceState]

I would imagine if such a rule exsisted which prevented interference in a developing culture's way of life the question is "If the the cultures way of life is threatened with extinction, its ending, be it a planetary geological shift, disease or war does the rule still apply?"

[flavoredwallpaper]

A nice introduction to the age-old legal debate of bright-line rules versus balancing tests.

[truefakeness]

The Prime Directive is such an excellent and obviously correct idea that I am surprised more people don't adduce it as the reason we have never made contact with alien cultures. If they are not a violent, imperialistic race, then they surely would have recognized the wisdom of such a law, and would have adopted it.

However, as the Star Trek writers did such a good job presenting, the Prime Directive along with any law loses its value once it is followed blindly without any view to the Good.

[TheElMoIsEviL]

Brilliant.

Simply Brilliant.

Picard is a Left-Libertarian.. sweet!

[StuffedAnimalAdvisor]

Kinda like the Constitution. It protects the people of America from government, even if you consider that government really does want what is best.

[TheElMoIsEviL]

@StuffedAnimalAdvisor No.. it protects from Tyranny. Which is not just Government. Any power.

Either Government or Private. Make no mistake... there are such things as private tyrannies.

[stringerboi]

am i the only TNG fan that hated poopoolaski?

[sabrerattler1]

I always try to ruin prime directive debates by un-buckeling my swash...swilling a few green-beers (thats why I can't spell right now...at home just watched startrek-tos spocks brain remastered dvd...love it! born in 1965...i still love tos and enterprise the very best...actually love all startrek (hated star trek #11 the afterbirth 2009 vomit bucket...but I keep that top secret from young trekkies not to scare the young new mini-skirted girls away!)...

[sabrerattler1]

also starfleet warships could strangle other alien civilzations by unrestricted sneak attacks on their shipping and isolated outposts...make them all flee migrate away as refugees and boat people away from the brutal onslaught of the expansion of manifest destiny...attack them now and make an example of them!...wipe them out!

[graveheart1138]

I guess from this outburst your girlfriend said no to you last night! lol

[MrLexTalionis1]

@graveheart1138 good clip , may you please tell me which episode is the 1 with picard being old and jordy coming to see him he is also old? thanx

[graveheart1138]

@MrLexTalionis1, I think the episode you are speaking of is the final episode of the series called All Good Things.

[SwordsmanMercenary]

@sabrerattler1 Wrong universe try the mirror universe

[sabrerattler1]

a floatilla of jutland class super-dreadnought dragging big ficking asteroid rocks to hurl downward on the enemy vermin planet...creating meteors to obliterate their disgusting retarded civilization...thats the "manifest destiny of expansion and conquest for breeding space"...disgusting ugly aliens infest too many excellent planets humans need!

[rocketshipstud1]

this is a "federation of fools!"...the terran empire should enslave inferior beeings to work in the dilithium mines and uranium mines to fuel the jutland class superdreadnoughts...i think a serios pre-emptive first strike with nuclear biological and chenmical weapons!...use the genesis terraforming bomb to wipe this scum out and repopulate it with caucasian stormtroopers and their families!

[gyrobotZ]

How about Imperialism?

[MrRodzilla]

worf should have spoken to do the honourable thing in this case

[chefkoo]

The great Kilngon trump card

[DeHerg]

@MrRodzilla but in this case the "honorable" thing wasn´t the "kill something or die in the process" option so he was against it

[GamingNorwegian]

Is it just me or does La Forge eat at every chance? xD

[olivemike81]

Moral debates are easy until you actually have to make the choice.

[darkknightbob101]

@agolosha but then we wouldnt be blowing shit up

[knowpassword]

yes

[LivesForJihad]

Gordie was getting some cheese and cake.

[kvn8907]

Two things:

First: 0:40, Maybe God, maybe Dr. Manhattan, maybe Trance Gemini. Best to be Trance Gemini, because she could actually work on that knowledge of possible futures. :-)

Second, this debate reminds me of in Star Control when the Chenjesu came to give technology to the Humans, not out of any philisophical reason, but because they needed help fighting the Ur-Quan. Meanwhile here the civilization has no ability to help, and at the time, no enemies of the Federation to fight.

[Fab2thaRizio]

the Universal health care reform brought me to this clip. lol

[Fab2thaRizio]

hahahahaha

[thewewguy8t88]

here is an interesting question lets say a big dissater was about to destory us all and aliens had the power to save us. do u think they should come and save us or let us die. because of the same reasons they are dissucssing as well.

[graveheart1138]

Well obviously I think we all would want them to help us but at the end of the day, it will be the're decision to help us or not.

[ringmaster316ms]

@thewewguy8t88 that would depend on the disaster. but consider this. why does the prime directive exist? to prevent shit like xel'naga experiments, for one. look at the chaos brought on by all that garbage, that universe is still at war

[hysangearring]

Man, Pulaski was irritating as hell. Glad they got rid of her.

[ben091294]

@hysangearring The actress who played Pulaski also played Dr. Miranda Jones in TOS in the episode "Is there in Truth No Beauty?" Which (I thought) was a good episode from that series. And she played the character very well. However, I agree, Crusher was a better Dr. an pulaski was rather annoying... I think that one of the reasons they added her was so that they could have at least one character who disputed Data's humanity. Without her, We would not have the Moriarty episodes, which I also like

[DanielBMS]

I always thought the prime directive shouldn't count here. The starship Enterprise is the only thing that could stop the geological disaster. Where as war, disease, and slavery are challenges for civilizations to conquer and foreign influence robs those cultures of the credit that they can be more advanced themselves.

[chefkoo]

true, but what happends when the draymen worship the enterprise becuase they think it's a devine being? would the draymens appreciate or even be intellectually mature enough to understand the forces at work? it was like in that episode when riker and tryo dressed up as those romulans like guys to make sure they didn't believe that picard was a god. if the enterprise interfered to help them, it would dramatically change the progress of the draymens. it's a tough question to think about.

[DanielBMS]

Just like that episode you mentioned Star Fleet would just have to tell the Draymen the truth weather or not they can understand it.

[chefkoo]

what i'm trying to say is that the issue is wether they should avoid getting to the point where they'd have to reveal the truth. since we can't know the future we can't know if our actions, even if meant for the best can have disastrous consequences.

[rashedly]

what if we think of it as a war, which shut the whole senior staff up. how is it different? one species' survival affects others', if they survive into an age of intergalactic interaction. how is safeguarding the draymens' survival that much longer not affecting any potential species interaction of the future...what if there is a war. how is this not picking the draymens' side? the bottom line is it's playing God. regardless of the specifics of how and to what extent it goes visibly wrong.

[ArgueExplain]

It's weird that "Right and Wrong" are being decided by whether or not a planet is advanced enough to encounter a spaceship.

Apparently, cultures with less technology aren't worthy of the help from advanced cultures.

The really weird part is that we see this today in the world. When the USA had an oil price hike, England pulled all the stops to give the USA emergency reserves. You don't see either of those two countries trying to feed starving people in the 3rd world.

[chefkoo]

this episode is taken out of the context in that draymen 4 isn't aware of other cultures and id unexlored by the federation. the 3rd world knows that there's rich, powerful governments out there.

[KommisarKowl]

Well, the idea of the Prime Directive is to preserve pre-warp civilizations and to encourage diplomacy, diversity, and observation. If the society wants Warp Technology or needs help as seen in the clip, it can be overridden. The idea is to have a Federation of planets instead of an empire. "Mirror, Mirror" in TOS shows the Federation with no Prime Directive.

[ZStanley14]

A difficult decision

[Danny77uk]

Why do they always make a big deal about 'violating' the Prime Directive? Picard himself violated it dozens of times and was never reprimanded! The message of this episode - it's fine to ignore someone's suffering if it's someone you don't know. That sounds like today's humanity. It thought this was supposed to be a better, moral future?!

[stringerboi]

picard is a smart man- barely any like him in starfleet

[Ringo84]

Geordi argued against the idea that an entire race should die, but he didn't seem to have a problem with it in the seventh season episode "Homeward", when the Enterprise bridge crew was going to allow an entire race to die out although they could have easily prevented it.

I'm a big fan of TNG, but I think one of the biggest weaknesses of the series was that the crew was sometimes too rigid in their interpretation of the PD.

[CaptainPositron]

In this particular episode, the PD didn't apply that much, Picard was using it as an excuse to not get off his lazy duff and do something that was right.

[kracker212]

The prime directive is more in place to ensure that the Federation never attempts to assimilate societies however inadvertently. Interference in their conscious decisions would equate to that.

But the race is not deciding to end nor is it a implication of any decision they have made so we're not interfering in how they are evolving or thinking other than to ensure they can continue to do.

[kracker212]

In the case of this particular incident I think violation of the prime directive is perfectly acceptable. If it's overall goal is not to interfere in the natural evolution of a race then fine.

But if that species through no fault of their own is about to come to an absolute end, their evolution will stop.

Starfleet should look upon it as a chance to ensure that the evolution of a species can continue.

[marxleninsputnik]

so if a tyranical govt is enslaving millions don't interfere?????!!! i guess the US should not heve gont to war against the 3rd reich in ww2, huh??? FUCK!!!!! i guess ya guys would happily just say sieg heil then just to maintain peace, just like chaimberlain of the UK.

[animeownage86]

If your thinking that way maybe we should go after Iran, North Korea, and every other country that MAY be a threat to us in the future... The prime directive is a wonderful idea but just like everything else too much is bad it's very hard to know when to interfere and when not to people don't think of the ramifications of their actions and that's how decades of suffering accrue. We cant police the world but at the same time we cant ignore everything.

[jdb2002]

Technically, we were staying neutral in WWII, until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. So we were letting an oppressive government take over most of Europe.

[DesertFox111]

Officially yes, technically no. The Lend Lease Act was passed in March 1941.

Also, the US navy was involved in the Battle of the Atlantic from fairly early on in the war. Hitler of course was willing tolerate small breaches of American neutrality to prevent a full fledged US war effort.

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, Churchill was quoted to have said something to the effect of, "we have won the war."

[packets1]

If the Federation has the power to prevent disasters happened which are *beyond the control* of the people it is going to effect, then it has the moral responsibility to act. Sure if they stop an asteroid crashing into a planet it might effect the future in 10 million years, but its like saying you wont save a drowning child because he *might* oneday have a son who grows up to be the next adolf Hitler. The Prime directive should only apply to matters of internal security, not humanitarian issues

[u2atomicbomb]

i agree, have you seen SFDEBRIS'S trek reviews on youtube ?

[datalal624]

packets1, I agree with you on your interpretation of the Prime Directive. It would be like us considering whether or not to save a primitive, totally isolated tribe deep in the Amazon from total destruction. Whether they've heard of the world outside the forest doesn't matter: they're living beings like us. However, that doesn't mean we should introduce them to cars and Coca-Cola too. That's what the PD is there for, to stop the Federation from taking advantage of "lesser" beings.

[yllibill]

I would also add the Prime Directive also exists to prevent cultural contamination of those less developed societies, which can have dangerous consequences. The Pakleds are a great example of what happens if the Prime Directive is ignored. The episode Who watches the watchers showed the dangerous path Mintakan society was taking when they were accidently exposed to the Federation. Other good examples are the inhabitants from Sigma Iota 2 and the people of Ekos in TOS.

[yllibill]

I would add that I think this is where the dillemma lies. We would obviously want to interfere in the case of a humanitarian disaster but if in the process of alievating the humanitarian crisis leads to cultural contamination what happens then? If that contamination is causing divisions and conflicts in that society does the Federation simply leave them alone? Or do they stay to mitigate those conflicts, thus wideneing and deepening the cultural contamination of that society?

[meleniumshane90]

@packets1 Understood.. Make it So Number One

I definitely agree there - especially when you consider the consequences of the actions. If an asteroid is approaching a civilization and just because they aren't warp capable, a strick interpretation would allow it to hit their planet. Consequence of doing nothing is a destroyed planet - the consequences of destroying it would just be the same as before the asteroid was there... life.

Then again, if you're talking about disease.. then you're

[meleniumshane90]

@packets1 talking about hindering the development of a species. Without that plague, there won't be that growth in medical knowledge from studying the plague.

I think catastrophic might be the pivotal point there - if the event is imminent and the species couldn't possibly do anything to prevent it, then perhaps it is the duty to respond.

[Jallorn]

@packets1 Precisely. In Picard's example, if a planet is at war, or held by a dictatorial regime, that is their business. If, however, there is an epidemic, or a geological or astrological disaster that can be prevented, or that they can at least save people from, then we should help.

[corbinmichael123]

@Jallorn What if the dictatorial regime unleashed an epidemic? Or a war caused geological instability? What if Nazi Germany came down with an epidemic just prior to their "Final Solution"?

[Jaiyeson]

@packets1

dam right!

[chefkoo]

@packets1 If the people you're saving have never seen a starship before, it can drastically change the way a society progress', in a very short time. Can be for the better, or it could be for the worse. The prime directive is there to protect cultures from outside influences, and as Picard said, to stop our emotions from ruling our judgement. It's a very compliated philisophical issue.

[ben091294]

@chefkoo I agree. If (hypothetically speaking), an alien, warp capable culture came to earth, can you imagine the lengths we'd go to to get their technology? And what could happen to us if we did? Or if the wrong people got it? No, the Prime Directive is there for a reason, and that reason is protection. It links with the age-old saying that the reward is sweeter (and potentially less destructive) if you get it yourself.

[ben091294]

@ben091294 Also, Who are Picard, Data, Pulaski and Troi to decide who lives and who dies? What makes them different from the rest of Starfleet that they can violate the Prime Directive when they (and no one else) decides its "the right thing to do"? I'm with Worf, why make it Starfleet General Order #1 if it can be violated for any reason when the Captain decides it is "right"? It may save lives, but the reasons for the Prime Directive are larger than even a race.

[jaworskij]

@packets1, supposedly the Pleiadians have not used the Prime Directive when they have stopped nuke warhead missiles from firing at another country on Earth. That a good example of not using it.

[jimbopumbapigsticks]

@packets1 So, if an alien race had the power, should they have saved the dinosaurs? Granted they weren't sentient, but who are we to apply our human standard of recognizable intelligence to other life forms? So they save the dinosaurs and... humanity never happens. THAT'S why there's a Prime Directive, even in the case of natural disasters. It recognizes that we're transient, fallible creatures who shouldn't impose ourselves on other life forms, even in cases where they may beg for help. 

[sparkloweb]

@jimbopumbapigsticks So they saved the dinosaurs, and humans never evolved. Then "we" (someone) would be reptoids, sitting around pondering the ethics of a hypothetical alien saving the proto-amphibians. Or perhaps an alien race DID violate the prime directive (as it's a fictional concept), and that's what killed the dinosaurs and led to humans. I wonder if asteroids agree to strike only those planets that are culturally prepared for annihilation.

[EyeOnTheTV]

This scene should never have been shot. By this time in Star Trek History the Prime Directive would have been around for at least 150-200 yeas. Everyone would know about it and THERE WOULD BE NO DEBATE.

[qbert555]

This is good. Thanks.

[MurasakiYugata]

Oh, man. My family has debates like this. Where do you draw the line? It's exhausting.

I may have to see the rest of this episode....

[otakurocklee]

That's why I love TNG. Even when they violate the Prime Directive, they at least respect it (except for the Doctor who seems to not give a crap about it. lol)

In Voyager, they no longer care about the Prime Directive.

My favorite TNG Prime Directive episode is the one with one planet supplying a medicine to another planet... Dr. Crusher learns the medicine is actually a drug, but Picard won't reveal the secret to the planet of drug addicts because it would violate the Prime Directive.

[maolo76]

The Prime Directive is great. The U.S. should follow that principle. China in fact have that principle too. China doesn't interfere in other sovereign nations affairs like the Darfur,Sudan. It is the reason it protected China's emotion from clouding their judgment. As hard as it may seem to see people die in the conflict, it is not China's business to interfere with their path of development. I see the U.S as a young Cpt. Archer...going around interfering in other civilizations.

[unsightly]

Ensuring that it remains sustainable and profitable for the mass murder to continue for your own benefit IS interfering. That is what China is doing. China is a renegade, out-of-control authoritarian nation.

[rtds9fan]

China reminds me of the Romulans.A group of people kept under thumb by a evil military backed goverment who thinks they should run the world...or as the Romulans thing the universe.And who says China doesn't get involved with other countries under the table and off the radar where no one knows about it.

[rtds9fan]

sorry what I meant to say is "...as the Romulans think the universe..." sorry

[swupstik]

@unsightly I can understand why you view China as an authoritarian nation sanctioning mass murder for its own profit. But would you please explain to me how is China "renegade" and "out-of-control"? Were you presuming that China should align itself to Western Capitalism, and subject itself to their control?

[unsightly]

The Prime Directive is preposterous. It is absurd to suggest that a powerful Federation would ever adopt such a weak-minded philosophy.

[wenaolong]

No, what is absurd is your limited intellect. The Prime Directive exists to prevent the Universe from becoming merely a reflection of the Federation over its own trajectory, which may be warped just as much from interfering as those it interferes with, and therefore may be a short trajectory after all. It is a reflection upon the right of other races to self-determine, and it is a noble directive. It applies only to sentient life, all else is game, so that's very fair for the Federation.

[rtds9fan]

I liked the irony that Data,the one with no emotions,was the one most touched and wanting to help.

[MurasakiYugata]

Yeah. I would have assumed that emotions are directly linked with morality, but this series has made me question that. I mean, if people with genuine feelings can do such evil things, what's to make me think that someone without feelings can't have just as strong a moral compass as anyone else can?

[clat1]

see Bush didn't help New Orleans because of the Prime Directive

[animeownage86]

That is different New Orleans is part of the United States...

[clat1]

I was j/k

[kingbobnjoe]

@clat1

That made me laugh.

[norkysk]

thank you! :D

[norkysk]

pleaseee,I need to know

[graveheart1138]

Season 2. The episode is called Penpals.

[norkysk]

or what season???

[sausageslaps]

it was so cold and cut and dried untl they heard her voice, all that is sensible tells them that they should respect the prime directive, but to seek out new life and civilizations also has some bearing. i think picards heart was torn the moment he heard her voice. i know mine was............

[FireItUpnj]

brilliant writing.

[scottarendt]

i'm not big on philosophy, but could someone tell me how that eliminates the possibility of fate?

[mnewman1985]

You can not interfere with fate, when you could it would not be fate.

[freebob3]

I was brought here from a prime directive link on a Ron Paul vid. Imagine a foreign policy that IS the prime directive - it is Ron Paul's position exactly! The elevation of freedom.

[kingbobnjoe]

@freebob3

Ron Paul 2012!

[Ruhnald]

Sophistry

[BCSWowbagger]

I have a problem with that kind of rigidity. It seems callous... and even a little cowardly.

[Eparabola]

"Your whisper from the dark has now become a plea"

Great line

[cool70200]

Hehe professor Picard, or Professor Xavier (of the X-men) schooling on moral dilemnas :P

[RTPye117]

Check out my group, 'Star Trek Forever'

[graveheart1138]

True but I love this conversation. Picard is heavy but your right about the girls voice.

[latino2hot]

LOL seemed like a good scene till i heard da little girls voice then started creasin!

[TheBlackSquirrel]

"what a perfect vicious little circle" XD

[BCSWowbagger]

Dear me, but I love this scene. One of the great moments in Trek, if I do say so myself.  The characters are so, so right... the discussion so brilliant on all sides. Thank you.