Matthew Continetti does not love Spock.
Last week, I tweeted that I was going to write a post about how Obama is not Spock like, but to the degrees that he is, I agree that it’s Spock’s most annoying traits.
[Afternoon update]
The gauntlet has been thrown:
Continetti just glosses over the sacrifice at the Battle of the Mutara Nebula, I assume because he knows it demolishes his case. What about the personal loss at the betrayal of Valeris? What about the hurtful but necessary decision — directly enforced by Spock — to let Edith Keeler die? How I hated him for that! But look, who among us wouldn’t let Hitler dominate the world in exchange for a lifetime of sweet sweet loving from young Joan Collins? Anyone? No one? Just me?
Heh.
The idea of mastering one’s emotions lest they instead master you, has much to recommend it — but the Vulcan way depicted in the franchise suggests abject fear of emotion, a cowardly overreaction.
Not everything is well explored or thought out in Star Trek–it was TV, after all–but one thing I thought they did explain well was why the Vulcans suppressed their emotions. They were supposed to be a lot more emotional/passionate than humans, which led them down a very destructive path. Instead of wiping themselves out, they chose a kind of ultra-stoicism.
There are times I think human culture could use a little more stoicism. . .though nowhere near the emotionlessness of Vulcans.