The main reason that I have been a huge fan of Star Trek all these years is because of the social commentary laced within the storytelling that mirrors our present day issues. Thankfully, BBC America keeps the ball rolling by airing episodes of The Next Generation.

On this particular day I was blessed with the two-part episode, “Chain of Command”. For those who may need a refresher- or an introduction- Captain Picard is taken prisoner by the Cardassians and subjected to torture as a political prisoner. He is stripped of his name, stripped of his clothing, striped of his dignity. What some may or may not know is that this episode was produced in cooperation with Amnesty International as a stark message about the many political prisoners being held around the world, including by the United States. The original air date was December of 1992, but the issues remain a decade later in December of 2013.

The dialogue, as always, provides small golden nuggets of pure wisdom. At times that wisdom is presented with a sardonic punch to the brain. One such line resonated after the episode was over. The Cardassian interrogator was speaking to his young daughter in the interrogation room where Picard hung by handcuffs in the center, clothed in nothing more than rags. She asked in childish innocence if humans had parents. He responded, “Oh, yes, but they do not love their children as we do.”

Upon her exit Picard stated that he was shocked that a child would be allowed to see the atrocities committed in the room. The Cardassian merely shrugged off the concern, to which Picard said,

“When children learn to devalue others they can devalue anyone, including their parents.”

Quite true, indeed. Where do you suppose we learn how to call others derogatory names, attach racial slurs and stereotypes, and degrade the worth of others for being different than ourselves? We learn it at a very early age while watching our parents interact and respond to the world.

Keep that in mind the next time someone or something is described as “gay”; that something has been “nigger-rigged” together, that a loss is described as being “Jewed over”.

Hate begins and ends within our own minds before we speak.