Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

I just watched one of my favorite Star Trek:TNG episodes: Darmok. I will have to admit, the impact is blunted somewhat by knowing what's going to happen before it happens. However, I'm still drawn in by the storyline: how do we communicate?

Of course, the logic of all aliens in the Star Trek universe speaking fairly comprehensible English makes it even more compelling. (Yes - I realize that the universal translator is what provides the vehicle, or we'd spend all sorts of time reading subtitles.) But we're caught in a situation where all the words make some sort of sense - Proper names are obviously proper names, and they're joined by prepositions and adjectives that seem to mean something, but we're missing the context. Thus, impasse!

And we're caught learning a new language in spite of ourselves. Language immersion in its truest sense. There is a certain arrogance in believing that everyone should learn our language, while we refuse to learn theirs. I wonder how we keep people at a distance by speaking in cultural tongues that they don't speak fluently, if at all.

Does the language of Robert's Rules of Order keep those who make decisions in the tongue of talking circles from participating in the leadership of our political, religious, economic, social milieus? Do we isolate ourselves by refusing to speak the languages of generations other than our own? It strikes me that society is currently having the most difficulty with those who speak in the tones of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, whose root metaphors come from the same initial document. Amazing isn't it?

Picard was finally able to break through the language barrier as he learned of their commonalities in the midst of shared hazards. The chill of the evening and lack of shelter gave an opportunity to learn something of dealing with the language of needs. The 'electrical entity' gave them a shared difficulty to overcome. It is truly unfortunate that one of the participants had to die to finally get the message across. We do that all too often to each other.

Picard may have ultimately had the right idea. Maybe we need to spend some time immersing ourselves in the root myths we hold in common to remind each other that we truly aren't that different from each other. Perhaps it's time for each of us to have a "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" experience and, thus, encourage understanding and peace. Brand me an idealist, but I hope we find a way to make it happen soon!