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A review by raemelle
The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack
5.0
I loved this prequel to the new Picard series. It provides background information for many of the events that occur in the show, and tells us the story of how Picard (probably my all-time favorite fictional character ever) became an admiral and eventually ended up back in France.
At times it was a bit anger-inducing, but that’s merely because of the painful similarities I see between this storyline and the humanitarian efforts people in our country today attempt to employ despite constant misinformation and greed on the part of the wealthy elite and their uneducated, xenophobic, brainwashed minions. There were also strong parallels to climate change and the people who deny it — despite the huge corporations that are taking measures to avoid being affected by it while trying to convince regular people that there is nothing to worry about (and that even if there is, these corporations don’t want people to realize just how much they are contributing to climate change).
It also has an important message, beyond just being willing to help those in need. No matter how right a mission is, without political backing it won’t be successful. And all resources just cannot be funneled into one issue, no matter how good. To do so is tantamount to dictatorship, no matter how good the cause is. Politics involves pleasing people in power, and the people who elect them, from a public relations standpoint. But as a politician, if you bow down to PR pressure every time you encounter a situation when you could truly enact real change, then your position in politics is pointless. What is the point of having political power if you’re so concerned with staying in power that you won’t do good with it? These two sides require communication, understanding, moderation and compromise.
That being said, only after these measures have been truly taken can we begin to think about ripping up the rules and charging forward what must be objectively considered the ultimate good. Charging forward without experience, understanding or knowledge of all sides of an argument is reckless and inefficient.
At times it was a bit anger-inducing, but that’s merely because of the painful similarities I see between this storyline and the humanitarian efforts people in our country today attempt to employ despite constant misinformation and greed on the part of the wealthy elite and their uneducated, xenophobic, brainwashed minions. There were also strong parallels to climate change and the people who deny it — despite the huge corporations that are taking measures to avoid being affected by it while trying to convince regular people that there is nothing to worry about (and that even if there is, these corporations don’t want people to realize just how much they are contributing to climate change).
It also has an important message, beyond just being willing to help those in need. No matter how right a mission is, without political backing it won’t be successful. And all resources just cannot be funneled into one issue, no matter how good. To do so is tantamount to dictatorship, no matter how good the cause is. Politics involves pleasing people in power, and the people who elect them, from a public relations standpoint. But as a politician, if you bow down to PR pressure every time you encounter a situation when you could truly enact real change, then your position in politics is pointless. What is the point of having political power if you’re so concerned with staying in power that you won’t do good with it? These two sides require communication, understanding, moderation and compromise.
That being said, only after these measures have been truly taken can we begin to think about ripping up the rules and charging forward what must be objectively considered the ultimate good. Charging forward without experience, understanding or knowledge of all sides of an argument is reckless and inefficient.