[CoughlinJ]

Just wanted to make a quick reply to this:

>When I think of the most talented and driven people I know (and surely it takes driven and talented people to make it in Starfleet), I think of people who work long hours, spend much of their spare time cultivating their talents, and generally don't waste much time.

I totally agree. Not only is it specifically discussed that man has begun to evolve in a way that they can better themselves, through cooperation and self discovery, but it's also a mindset I see quite often. People who work tirelessly, and do incredible work, and then enjoy the small hobbies they have? Sounds like a lot of people I know, though not nearly in as large a quantity that one might find in a star trekesque future.

[philwelch]

You never see a Star Trek episode that follows the daily lives of ordinary people, though. Nearly all the humans are Starfleet personnel, and according to various series' bibles, Starfleet is very selective.

[tsunamifury]

DS9 Had several episodes that explicitly follow the civilian lifestyle of Sikso's father. The major plot point is about the strife between ordinary citizens being subjected to security tests who are not part of Starfleet.

[laconian]

There was one or two like that in TNG, but those were very conspicuous in their intent to depict a day in the life of the crew.

[philwelch]

And they were still about the crew, not about civilians.