Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
I get the point you articulate, but I'd submit that a characterization where The Federation is a facade stretched a cross a bleak, rotted reality is not Star Trek. It's a neat premise, a wonderful comment on American history, and makes for great sci-fi.

However, ST was intended to be set in a future where our better angels had the upper hand, even if they hadn't completely won the day. Roddenberry took it too far, especially in the early seasons of TNG, but the underlying vision of hope is ST's core.

I sometimes feel like creators that want to present this more cynical interpretation of Trek are like those comicbook writers that want to write superheroes, but go overboard trying to prove they're not writing kid's stuff.
I do suspect this is the underlying plot for Discovery Season 3. Yes, the Federation has survived for a thousand years, but survive doesn't mean thrive, necessarily. So then the question is, now that the Federation's been deconstructed, how do you reconstruct it in a way that adheres to its mission, vision, and values that saw it at the height of its influence and well-being for Federation citizens.

DS9 kind of touched upon it with the Dominion War, but it was through crisis. In Discovery it could very well be that the crisis has long passed and people gave up, so how do you inspire them again to unite and work towards that idyllic, utopian future.