The Death of "Spock," Again

Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

Spock died yesterday, and this time he probably won't come back. For a reverent moment, let me clarify. The director, writer, photographer, singer and actor who portrayed the character Spock for more than five decades died on Feb. 27 in his bed, at home in Los Angeles' exclusive Belair neighborhood. He is gone, yet his memory will live long, and I hope that someday what the character represented will spread.

 Back to where this started -- Spock has lived, died and lived more than one life before. Paramount Studios, maker of the Star Trek films, killed off the character Spock,  in  "The Wrath of Khan," the second in a series of now 11 big-screen films. The then-Vulcan science officer on the Starship Enterprise sacrificed himself at the end of the film because, as that script nobly repeats several times, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." Anyway, the character dies in the 1982 film, but the producers misread the needs of the fans, and what Spock represented in the American psyche. That is why, in 1984, the third film, which Nimoy also directed, was tagged,  "The Search for Spock,"an aptly dubbed search-and-rescue saga.

I grieve the death of Leonard Nimoy, but not just as a fan of the television, film, animation, and novel series. The character which was a first on television in this country made me unashamed to embrace the embrace the emotionally controlled, rational, and logical spirit - the "Spock" - in me. More than that, I hope that someday many more people on this planet will show the traits the character so ably conveyed. We need more people to take on that posture instead of the passion-driven, purposeless, violent stances seemingly prevalent throughout the globe in  in the 21st Century.

Those traits came to me as the result of an education in the Classics. Most Americans will disagree, but I wish today's high school and college students would still be pushed to study languages, Philosophy, History, the Arts, and Social Sciences instead of just Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM will make young people become better cogs in a transnational money-making machine, but those who come through the education pipeline without even a faint familiarity with Classic deeds, contributions and artifacts of Global civilizations are likely to lose their souls. Nimoy's Spock contributed soul.

Quinto's Spock

As for the movies, the Nimoy Spock yielded his spot to the a younger, more passionate and cosmopolitan character with an itch for black women in the 2009 rebirth of the Star Trek movie series. He is portrayed as rage-filled, romantic and sometimes without logic by Zachary Quinto since movie number ten. That film rewove Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's traditional storyline so far outside of what Trekkies and less die-hard fans might expect, the 127-minute drama had to be titled, "Star Trek," lest viewers become confused. Yet, Nimoy's specter was so powerful that the story included the actor and his character in a cameo role.

Nimoy's Spock was part of a race of people named after the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Since the television series debuted during the late 1960s, a time when the United States was embroiled in a bloody conflict in Southeast Asia, his character often pointed out and criticized humanity's suicidal tendencies. Vulcan was nearly destroyed by the temptation to yield to the hearts' dictates without critical thought. Perhaps that is why Roddenberry had them not say "goodbye," as humans do upon departure. Vulcan's say, "Live long and prosper."

 The people of Vulcan came to understand that passion without logic can only yield unbridled violence. As Pope Paul VI once explained in his writings Peace on Earth can only truly emerge from the will to see all human life preserved and prosperous. As mentioned, I learned the same things reading human history, philosophy, ancient languages, and through the study of art and music. I remain puzzled why it seems that so few others people these days grasp the same understanding.

I see passion without logic everyday in the alleged acts of the self-proclaimed, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as the covert drone wars of the United States. The tragic formula is evident in the Ferguson, Missouri riots' irrational rage, and the racially insensitive, inflexibility of the St. Louis County law enforcement. The pattern was in the "preemptive strike" policy of former President George W. Bush's administration, sadly echoed by the mandates of President Barack Obama.

Unbridled passion, irrational fear and disjointed logic destroy mental, physical and spiritual harmony and balance. Sadly those negative traits have woven into the fabric of life on this planet. Perhaps, as people read this, remember Leonard Nimoy, or search for Spock, those of good will be inspired to pause the violence and other evils that result from rage fed by fear and illogic, and consider, "Where does this gets us?"

The future of ourselves and the Earth will be the result of human will. Violence and fear are choices, not part of human nature. Like the mythical Vulcans, at any point Humans can turn the corner and choose to life and prosperity for all.