When looking for evidence of the power and special quality of Star Trek, and proof that it is not only the original but remains the best Trek to date, you don’t have to look far. In virtually every episode there is at least one moment that shines and demonstrates what not just the show, but all of life is about. Star Trek, at it’s core is about a voyage of discovery, not only through space, but also through the heart and mind of all humanity. The Triumvirate of Kirk, McCoy and Spock are representatives of different aspects of all humanity and one of the greatest elements of the show was not the consideration of how they agreed but in how they differed and the strength it brought out in all of them. You need look no further than the episode "Bread and Circuses" and the interaction between Spock and McCoy locked in a jail cell. Frustrated, with nothing else to do, McCoy psychoanalyzes Spock on the spot. It starts almost as an attack, but when it is over, the moment has reinforced the bond that unites the two men. McCoy points out that it’s not dying that frightens Spock, but living. Existing each day with the fear that some emotion might peek out and Spock might slip and allow his human side to show. He says that Spock wouldn’t know what to do with a genuine emotion if he had one. "Really, Doctor?" Spock responds. It is an amazing admission coming from the logical Vulcan in that he acknowledges his worry about the missing Captain Kirk. McCoy picks up on it and recognizes what he means. "I know. I’m worried about Jim, too." Even through their differences, they find a common ground.

Those kinds of moments actually showcase what is one of the great strengths of Star Trek as opposed to the later shows where everyone was always in agreement and no one was ever wrong. Star Trek didn’t just preach and say "Ya’ll children should get along nice together," but it showed us how in many ways our apparent differences really become strengths when we recognize, respect and use them correctly. Spock and McCoy rarely agreed on anything and yet, in most cases both their points of view are valid. It taught us how to use our diversity rather than to sublimate it. And how to learn to not just tolerate, but also respect and love people who are so different from ourselves that we can’t begin to understand their thinking processes.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the gang often went around showing "less advanced" folk how they should be living their lives by example. "In our time we’ve eliminated greed, money, poverty, war, disease et al." The implicit lesson being "we are better than you and if you be like us you can be better too." In Star Trek, we were not preached at because we saw the view point characters learning those lessons. Case in point, the classic moment in the episode featuring the Organians, when Kirk suddenly realizes what he is arguing for is the right to wage war on a galactic scale and he gets that "what the hell am I thinking?" look on his face. He was upset because a devastating war that would have resulted in the deaths of untold billions was stopped cold. And he was arguing against that? And, on top of that realization, Kirk was man enough to admit he was wrong!

In the 24th Century, Jean Luc Picard would say that mankind has progressed beyond the need for violence and evolved past the desire to kill.

In the 23rd Century, James T. Kirk says, "we are killers, but we are not going to kill. Today."

Which lesson is more relevant for our times?