The needs of the many…
Interestingly enough, I found myself watching an old Star Trek movie called the Wrath of Khan, the other day while hunkered down in this isolation state we now find ourselves in.
I like Sci-Fi movies, always have. I guess it’s because I love science stuff.
Khan is the “bad guy” in this one. He is a genetically engineered tyrant that has a death wish against Kirk. He is vengeful because of a past incident with Kirk. In an earlier movie, Khan is awoken by the Enterprise crew after 100 years of being frozen in stasis. He attempts to commandeer the ship and kill Kirk, for which he is marooned on an empty planet and tasked with its repopulation. Unknown to Starfleet, the neighboring planet was soon to explode, and in the interim between Space Seed and The Wrath of Khan, became an inhospitable wasteland in which most of Khan’s followers, including his wife, perished. Khan blames Kirk for their deaths and seeks vengeance during the film
Anyways, mixed in with the thrills, battles, and science – going where no human has gone before, is a human behavioral underscore that the overtly logical Spock just didn’t understand – until near the end of the movie.
Spock, whom is a Vulcan – saves the day, when he enters an extremely high radioactive area to repair the ships engine. In doing so, he logically reasons and communicates while he is dying of radiation poisoning – that the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few (or the one).
This is a concept that he found illogical earlier in the movie when discussing the idea with Kirk, yet in the critical time for action in order to save the entire crew of the Enterprise – he chose to sacrifice his life for theirs.
In this stressful time we are all encountering, this act of selflessness, and message that it brings – seems so apropos. Shared sacrifice of the few, for the betterment of the larger populous.
But, even more importantly it also reminds me of my faithful belief in Jesus Christ. Who died on the cross, to take away the sins of the world. He sacrificed himself for everyone.
The movie ends with a burial scene and Spock is sent off in a capsule which is sent to a barren lifeless planet. The capsule also carries a new technology that will regenerate life to that planet, called the Genesis Device. The planet morphs into a flourishing planet filled with water, plants, and animals. The capsule is shown broken open and an infant emerges from within. Spock is reborn.
We too will emerge from the imposed lockdowns and restrictions soon. I dearly hope that most of us understand that he needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Live long and prosper…
Ruminati 