Star Trek’s IDIC is at the core of the franchise. Where the most complex challenges lie, also exist the most significant opportunities. Last week, the Roddenberry Foundation’s ambassador, Sabrina Cartan, hosted a live virtual event across media platforms. During the conversation, we heard from Star Trek: Voyager’s legendary Tim Russ and three award-winning activists who are part of the Roddenberry Foundation.
Aptly named, this talk centred around “Creating the Star Trek Future in Times of Crisis,” and embracing diversity, equality, and inclusion. So, how and why does Star Trek’s IDIC Philosophy matter in today’s changing world? This event, which aired across YouTube, Instagram Live, and Facebook Live, is the first of a hopeful series of podcast-style talks connecting the present and Star Trek’s future.
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
One of Star Trek’s most foundational concepts was perhaps best explained by T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), affectionately known by fans as “IDIC”—Infinite Diversity In Infinite combinations. Since its beginnings in 1966, the franchise has always promoted diversity, equality, and inclusion, following Gene Roddenberry‘s vision.
“Star Trek…having watching the original series while I was in high school…watching the same stories that dealt with what we deal with today, dealing with social issues and social conflicts, that existed then, reinforced and reborn in the present. Even once we geT To Voyager, and all the other incarnations of STar Trek kept that same thing going – diversity in the crew…it has never lost it’s appeal in that., it’s focus for portraying situations within our society that need to be dealt with and discussed. I always wondered if there would be an episode ever that dealt with topics of misinformation like what we are dealing with now.”
Tim Russ
The Roddenberry Ethos
Gene Roddenberry had a unique, accurate and enlightened view of the future. Over 15 years ago, Gene’s son Rod Roddenberry founded The Roddenberry Foundation.
“At The Roddenberry Foundation, we are committed to advancing Gene’s faith in humanity by finding and supporting remarkable people and organizations who can disrupt existing dynamics, challenge old patterns of thought, and discover new ways to help us move towards a better future.”
Rod Roddenberry
Danny Egol, co-founder and executive director of IDEAS Generation, aligns with the Roddenberry Ethos and is a member of the Roddenberry Fellowship. During last week’s live stream, he described how his parents instilled in him the ideals of diversity, equality, and inclusion from a young age.
“I grew up in a multi-cultural home so I have family whom their first language was Hebrew, others were Spanish…and in that environment I learned that what I think IDIC really is, was an important part of my childhood was that there is no ‘right way’ – I got to see a world where there is a lot of curiosity and beauty and deep interest and different ways of being. (But) there are bad things that can happen, and we need to do something about it.” – Danny Egol.
Other guests, Kat Calvin (founder, Spread the Vote and Project ID) and Elis Schuster (Co-founder of OK So), shared similar sentiments about the Ethos and how they use it to change the world. Elise Schuster (founder of OkSo) mentioned how she would love to see people embrace the values of Star Trek and that differences are not to be feared. She recited an inspirational quote that resonates:
“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.” – Ilya Prigogine, Nobel laureate chemist
Sabrina Cartan hosted the event, this year’s Roddenberry Foundation ambassador. She’s worked for 10-15 years for the Fan Activist Movement, representing multiple fandoms who incite change in the world. She mentions that there are none other than Star Trek fans, who Gerald Ford’s administration cited as one of the most active and vital constituencies in the country. The fans successfully pitched the US government to change the name of NASA’s Space Shuttle from Constitution to Enterprise.
Trekking Forward
Star Trek has always spread powerful messages about DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion), such as the fan-favorite “Far Beyond the Stars” (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). In today’s world, not only do we continue to fight injustices and inequalities, but we also find ourselves fighting a war of misinformation.
Tim Russ delivered a powerful message to fans, urging them to never stop pushing forward but to do so with integrity and truth.
It’s important to post correct information, factual and accurate so that people can pass things along to keep people informed. Nobody is listening, nobody is aware of what’s going on…there has to be a way for us to be able to spread the word to individuals who aren’t aware of what’s going on.” – Tim Russ
During events like this, it is truly amazing to hear from influential individuals such as these but also an audience who shares in these values. A Facebook comment from fan Geordie M. expressed his gratitude:
“TNG was a mainstay of my formative years. I’m grateful to the cast, writers, and production staff for telling stories that genuinely taught moral dilemmas and the importance of embracing difference, and more importantly trying to understand how others experience the world from their perspective.”
Tim Russ describes the Star Trek community as “generally more enlightened,” in our support of diversity, equality and inclusion. The team at Trek Central has seen this first hand in our Superfan Spotlight interviews.
To all fans and readers alike… keep moving forward, and build a future we can be proud of!
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