Jul 27, 2020, 18:47 pm
(This post was last modified: Jul 27, 2020, 18:54 pm by RobertX. Edited 2 times in total.)
Maybe they were, but I don''t think Gene Roddenberry agrees with the assessment that they are a military organisation at all. I don't know.
LZA:
Now, back to topic. I guess Starfleet can be militant in some ways, but they are militant pacifists. Unlike other Orwellian dystopia, they don't fire first, they don't conscript (they believe in free will), and they don't lie to their citizens, other than the fact that they are align with a power that doesn't believe in the Starfleet philosophy of running a fair and honest government. Picard even said it,k "the first duty is to the truth, whether it's historical truth or the scientific truth."
That said, the Romulans did fault the Federation for expanding their "empire," which may indicate themselves being militant.
LZA:
Long-winded Explanation of the Klingon War(s) Wrote:Starfleet was at war with the Klingons, a bunch of times and at bunch of realities. When Staffleet messed up on protocol around Star Trek Enterprise, the Federation saw a policy change of not interfering with an alien culture, which becomes known as the Prime Directive. This feud continued through Star Trek Discovery and the end of Captain Kirk's adventures, it boiled over with the Khitomer Accords.
But when the Enterprise C disappeared into the future, it created a parallel universe when the Federation was in war with the Klingons because the Federation wasn't there to help them at their hour of need. With the help of the alternate Captain Picard and the Enterprise, the C was repaired and returned to the battle scene, which averted the alternate timeline but was lost.
In the universe where the mirror Empress Georgiou came from, the Klingon-Cardassian alliance defeated the Terran Empire, which was the equivalent of the Federation in the prime universe and made them slaves.
When Caradassia was suspected of being infiltrated by Changelings, Starfleet didn't support the Klingon's stance to invade Cardassia and withdrew from the Khitomer Accords and this lasted until the Cardassians were pushed into joining the Dominion and the Khitomer Accords were re-instated.
Point being: Starfleet's wars with the Klingon Empire were legendary.
Now, back to topic. I guess Starfleet can be militant in some ways, but they are militant pacifists. Unlike other Orwellian dystopia, they don't fire first, they don't conscript (they believe in free will), and they don't lie to their citizens, other than the fact that they are align with a power that doesn't believe in the Starfleet philosophy of running a fair and honest government. Picard even said it,k "the first duty is to the truth, whether it's historical truth or the scientific truth."
That said, the Romulans did fault the Federation for expanding their "empire," which may indicate themselves being militant.