Saturday, May 9, 2009

If Liberals Are Spock, I Guess Conservatives Are Kirk

Saw the new Trek last night and it was excellent. Despite what the trailers lead you to believe, it's not just some tawdry action porn and it actually has quite a bit of good dialogue. My only complaint is that one of my favorite actors, Jon Cho, didn't have a big enough part and my Dad was upset that none of the fight scenes had the classic music from the series.

Anyways, a full-on nerd war has been sparked by lefty pundits who seem to be closeted Trekkies. Because of his mixed-race, application of logic, and general awesomeness, the new meme is that Obama is Spock. Newsweek, Politico, and Huffington Post have all stated this, and Salon has the most detailed support of this argument:
Obama, like Spock, rewards close listening. His cool logic is a real departure from what we've grown used to. Often presidential speechmaking is an emotive art, where oratory trumps reason. What was being said was often confused with how it was being said. We could watch Ronald Reagan with the sound off, and get a pretty good sense of how we were supposed to feel. Bill Clinton's richly accented arias lulled us, while reactions to the appearances of George W. Bush -- pro or con -- were driven less by analysis than by a limbic, visceral response.
I suppose by default, this would imply that the fightin', drinkin', emotionally-charged Captain Kirk is a cultural representation of modern conservativesm. What a perfect time to re-run some hilarious motivators!

On Diplomacy in the age of Extremism

On Military Acquisitions

And On Self-Confidence (despite recent electoral setbacks)

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