Captain Jean-Luc Picard becomes Locutus of Borg in the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds"
Tammy Alexander writes about immigration and… Star Trek in her latest Third Way Cafe Article:
The Borg were a race of machine-human hybrids bent on galactic domination. Their demands were simple: you either “assimilated” to their way of life, giving up everything unique about yourself, or you would be destroyed.
Those words came to my mind recently while listening to a National Public Radio report about immigrant assimilation. I cringe when I hear the word “assimilate” because, typically, the assumption made is that assimilation is good, while failure to properly assimilate is bad. Immigrants are great, but only when they learn to talk like us, act like us and dress like us. Only when they become truly “Americanized.”
All the talk of assimilation completely ignores the positive ways in which immigrants shape our culture today. Are we so satisfied with American society that we can see no room for improvement? Or might we welcome the gifts that immigrants bring, whether it’s a greater sense of community, a deeper spirituality, or simply unique foods, dance, and music?
Posted by Gabe Schlabach 
