‘The Values Reflected Within Star Trek’: ‘Trektivism’ Manifests Ideals In Real Life
Fans can help build a bridge to the future, in ways large and small
WASHINGTON DC — With so many fans drawn to Star Trek because of the inclusive and enlightened values that it represents, we want to somehow bring those ideals to life.
“Trektivism” is a relatively recent phenomenon that bridge that gap, with a podcast, social media and more for fans to connect with.
Longtime fans associated with Trektivism presented it at the recent Awesome Con convention held here.
Trektivism, simply put, is taking the values of Star Trek, and “living that out in all of our daily lives,” said Adams, who runs a business here organizing events for the LGBTQ community.
“We’re Star Trek fans because of the values reflected within Star Trek. And ‘Trektivism’ is a term coined a few years ago in Las Vegas to try to capture what does it mean to have those values reflected in real life,” he said. “What I mean by that is: in your daily jobs, in your careers, in your charity work and volunteer work — whatever you might be doing to help others.”
At the time of Awesome Con, Adams explained that he was recovering from a ruptured appendix.
In that experience, Adams explained how he was assisted by a variety of emergency and medical professionals.
“One of the things that we typically talk about is [the contributions of professions] like doctors, nurses, the military — those careers of service that help community — and I was one of the beneficiaries as I was in great pain,” he said, noting that he has been a fan since starting to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation at the age of 11.
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The innate values of Star Trek begin with the idea of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, or IDIC, which originated with the original series.
“It is through IDIC which we get the core values of Trektivism,” Adams said, adding, “Basically, Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations is meaning that we are all part of the community. We all have differences, but yet we are all part of the community.”
Other core values include: human rights, economic justice, appreciation for science and technology with ethics, exploring the unknown, peaceful conflict resolution, and an optimistic view of the future.
Trektivism can take many forms, with Adams defining it this way: “‘Trektivism’ is the practice of applying Star Trek’s core values to foster community and encourage social change through volunteerism and general acts of kindness.”
It can involve working with large-scale charities like the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or Pancan, which a number of actors in franchise have worked closely with over the years, including Jonathan Frakes, John Billingsley, of Star Trek: Enterprise, and others.
It can also involve social and political activism, such as for causes like Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, as well as participating in rallies and campaigning for political candidates.
“So there are a lot of folks across the Trektivism community who are active in supporting the political aspects of whatever their belief may be, on all sides of the aisle,” Adams said. “Engaging in political activities is encouraged because that is using your voice to promote your perspective.”
But to be properly Trektivism, it has to reflect the values reflected seen on screen in Star Trek, Adams clarified.
That means that any causes or philosophies built on exclusion would not reflect Trektivism, he said, noting that as a gay man, watching TNG as a child “I saw a future where everybody was included.”
“If you exclude people because of who they are, that to me is contradictory to the values of the show. I think there’s a fundamental of values that fall within what the show reflects. I think there are perspectives that fall outside of that value.”
Trektivism doesn’t have to be anything big to be effective, said Adeena Mignogna, herself very involved with Trektivism.
She described an event where her child was being honored at a county government meeting but where a man made comments calling out transgender kids.
“We took this gentleman aside afterwards and had a few things to say,” Mignogna said, adding, “This is not a big thing — we didn’t make a big scene — it was just a little thing. But to call out and say, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is really not supportive of these kids.’”
Trektivism offers fans a variety of options to connect, including through a podcast, a Discord discussion, and more.
Information is available on the Trektivism website here.
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