18 August 2009

Margaret Chen
editor in chief
iCUBED.us

Here in Hong Kong we are moving towards a higher regard for the HUMANITIES in our education system, why is this increased respect for HUMANITIES important?

In the science fiction series 'Star Trek', which started as a short story with a strong concept, there are a type of space people called THE BORG who are much feared because they turn everyone they encounter into a robotic 'army' by assimilating, not only technology but also the captured victim into a 'hive' mind, which means a 'collective'. To become a Borg means to lose your 'individuality', and the BORG do seem to be invincible, and with a slogan that any marketing person would appreciate: "Resistance is Futile'.

The important question seems, NOT whether 'resistance is futile', because when you succumb to the idea that anything is futile, in effect, you've lost half the battle already because you'll have to fight on two fronts: the first is against the obvious enemy - in this case, THE BORG; but the other much more potent enemy, is the one that causes you to DOUBT YOURSELF, this second enemy causes more damage because it makes you turn against yourself, against your friends, thereby succeeding in 'controlling' you before they even get close enough to assimilate you and your knowledge into their collective.

As any follower of the series knows, as technically advanced as the BORG are, in the previous Star Trek film - not the most recent one, it is HUMANS with our HUMANITY intact - and not any of the other brave resistance fighters, that comes up with a clever plan that could have failed - and nearly does in some scenarios (because time travel is possible in this sci-fi world) - the trait that sees us through, is our "humanity", it is HUMANITY's tenacity, and its clear vision of WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG - in the sense of WHAT ENCOURAGES THE HIGHEST GOOD IN HUMANITY - those things like FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION THAT ALLOWS FOR TRUE FAIR PLAY so that we aspire to what is good and beneficial, not from FEAR, but rather from a clear understanding of shared GOALS, worth fighting for because they are the things that enable humanity to flourish, to create sustainable systems and that unites us toward a COMMON GOAL.

Indeed, Star Trek takes us to the brink of annihilation, and then finally, in the last moment, BEYOND, ...because when pushed to the limit, HUMANITY has a way of moving beyond expectation to protect the highest good so that those life-affirming things will define who we are - our humanity, our identity as human-kind win, as they MUST.

HUMANS and HUMANITY in the Star Trek series had many enemies, but none as insidious as THE BORG. THE BORG's agenda was the MOST DESTRUCTIVE, thus the most worthy of RESISTANCE. Which one of us would want to be assimilated into a hive mind, where we have neither privacy nor freedom of thought!!!

The point of this look at how to RESIST that which seems 'futile to resist', is to suggest that OUR EDUCATION MUST INCLUDE NOT ONLY MATH AND QUANTITATIVE SCIENCES, instead, we MUST cultivate a stronger sense of HUMANITY in ourselves, so that that HUMANITY 'in' us guides our actions to contribute what we are capable of contributing to overcome enemies as seemingly invincible as THE BORG.

Without HUMANITY, "resistance is futile' as we will have no reason to resist a 'futile' cause...

In other words, our HUMANITY is the only force strong enough to resist THE BORG, HITLER, or any other seemingly impossible 'enemy'. An enemy that uses FEAR as a weapon, rather than ENCOURAGEMENT to reward our positive steps towards greater responsibilities and freedoms.

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