Trekkin' 2

Hey, if they can make sequels out the wazoo with these movies, I can make a second Star Trek post in a row, too.

A few days have gone by, so this shouldn't be too spoiler-y, but if it is, sorry. I've warned you. My favorite scene from the movie is Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike talking to one James T. Kirk after said Kirk has gotten himself beaten up a little by some Starfleet cadets. Pike stopped the fight before he knew who Kirk was, but has now learned the young man whose behind he saved is the son of a hero.

Pike is overseeing a recruiting trip and gives Kirk a little speech about joining Starfleet and doing something with his life. Kirk doesn't want much to do with uniforms and regulations and such, but Pike sees he is a young man who doesn't really know much of what he wants. He closes with my favorite line in the movie:

"Your father was the captain of a starship for 12 minutes. He saved the lives of 800 people, including yours. I dare you to do better."

That's not a very sensitive thing to say, since George Kirk was killed saving those lives. It also promotes competition, and doesn't seem to take into account young Jim's self-esteem. It would probably tend to make him try to measure up to his father's memory, which of course is impossible since the man is gone and memories enlarge things many times over.

I guess those are the reasons I like it so much. Sometimes we move ahead and do great things because we've been nurtured and cared for and we've been given confidence in our abilities to do them. We've been shown that we have gifts and skills and we have the support of people who care about us and even if we fail we know we'll still have that support. We need those things to make us healthy people.

And sometimes we need a spur, a goad, a kick in that region that has been designated as the proper target for motivating impacts. If nurturing and care have given us the fuel of ability and skill for achievement, sometimes it will be a flare of irritation, a spark of "I'll show you" or the friction of "I can so do that" that ignites the fire.

At a recent conference, I heard a speaker offer the Lake Wobegonesque assertion that everyone is capable of excellence. Maybe. And maybe we should be dared to do better.