It's not so different from the isolationist policy of the Japanese Tokagawa shogunate in response to the cultural chaos caused by various outsiders. In this case, the Vulcans at least allow outsiders to visit the planet and no doubt live and work there, as long as they are not disruptive to the culture.
Vulcan culture seems pretty sketchy at times…
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That's very interesting. And yeah, I would find it to be a natural response. If someone flexes, you're naturally inclined to to be protective of what you hold dear. In this case, Vulcans leaving their culture to become another? For Vulcans, it must have been traumatic; Vulcans that don't hold to their values must have been unthinkable, leading Vulcans to hold on much tighter onto their culture with a vow to not let it happen again.
In the trio of books written by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz (Vulcan's Soul), the reason that Vulcans left Vulcan was that Surak prompted the exodus. The fighting was so bad and total annihilation was probable that to save the Vulcan people some had to leave to find a new planet on which to establish a Vulcan colony. Both the followers of Surak and those who were not were sent on near-generation ships to find a livable planet. I suppose this means that there were no Vulcan colonies at the time because of the preoccupation with war on Vulcan itself.
What happened is that they just ended up as a militaristic society (at least the governing body was) on another planet (Romulus). Romulus was bare of essential resources, so the followers of Surak were exiled to Remus to serve as unwilling miners, with a promise to be repatriated to Romulus eventually, but that never happened.
Oh, the Vulcans have been sketchy since "Amok Time" at least. I've been insisting for years now that the Vulcans were never intended to be role models. Heck, the very first time we ever met a Vulcan other than Spock, she plotted to get Kirk or Spock killed in order to escape an arranged marriage.
Then, in "Journey to Babel," we find out that Spock's father hasn't spoke to his son in eighteen years, just because he disapproves of Spock's chosen career, and that he's concealing a serious heart condition from his own wife. Moreover, even Spock admits that Sarek is perfectly capable of killing someone in cold blood if it seems like like the logical thing to do.
And need I mention Valeris?
Spock is admirable, but that doesn't mean all Vulcans are admirable. They're not role models; more often not, they're repressed extremists who tend to look down on more "emotional" species while pretending to be a lot more "logical" than they actually are. IMO.
Then, in "Journey to Babel," we find out that Spock's father hasn't spoke to his son in eighteen years, just because he disapproves of Spock's chosen career, and that he's concealing a serious heart condition from his own wife. Moreover, even Spock admits that Sarek is perfectly capable of killing someone in cold blood if it seems like like the logical thing to do.
And need I mention Valeris?
Spock is admirable, but that doesn't mean all Vulcans are admirable. They're not role models; more often not, they're repressed extremists who tend to look down on more "emotional" species while pretending to be a lot more "logical" than they actually are. IMO.
I have often argued that the Vulcans represent an unbalanced extreme because their life experiences as a culture taught them that only one extreme would serve them well. That is not a life to idolize.
Exactly this. No culture is perfect. There’s always something beneath the veneer.
Very True.
It's likely part of the reason that Spock pushed for unification. The Vulcans are becoming atrophied. They need at least some of the passion of the Romulans to continue to grow.
I’ve also postulated that he feels a slight and completely irrational sense of guilt about urging Kirk to attack in “Balance of Terror”, kicking off the decades of renewed enmity. He was completely correct, but…
Did Vulcan culture change in any way after the founding of the Federation?
We have been talking about the Vulcan culture a bit earlier, but I began to wonder, did it change after the Federation was created and how.
I am especially interested in the arranged marriages custom. Because, while both pre - Federation and post - Federation Vulcans did it, the rules might have changed.
We know from Enterprise that pre - Federation Vulcan arranged marriages had certain political/economical value. Koss showed so, I think, in Home. This would encourage Vulcans to make choices of pairings based on things that are not directly related to their children, but to their own interests. Yet this is never mentioned in Federation Vulcans (as far as I know). It certainly doesn't seem to be the case with Tuvok's marriage.
So, is it possible that, under the Federation, the political/economic things related to Vulcan arranged marriages are gone and the pairings are made based on apparent comptibility of the children? While it does not make it right, it would make it better. And certainly would result in less pressure for them to actually go through with it.
We have been talking about the Vulcan culture a bit earlier, but I began to wonder, did it change after the Federation was created and how.
I am especially interested in the arranged marriages custom. Because, while both pre - Federation and post - Federation Vulcans did it, the rules might have changed.
We know from Enterprise that pre - Federation Vulcan arranged marriages had certain political/economical value. Koss showed so, I think, in Home. This would encourage Vulcans to make choices of pairings based on things that are not directly related to their children, but to their own interests. Yet this is never mentioned in Federation Vulcans (as far as I know). It certainly doesn't seem to be the case with Tuvok's marriage.
So, is it possible that, under the Federation, the political/economic things related to Vulcan arranged marriages are gone and the pairings are made based on apparent comptibility of the children? While it does not make it right, it would make it better. And certainly would result in less pressure for them to actually go through with it.
Isn't that who they were during Enterprise?
Vulcan society seems based on structure, rules and protocol, so I'm guessing it didn't change much.
Not that we'll ever see it, but a SNW set on the Intrepid (A script prerogative gets Spock temporarily assigned, he experiences mind melds while there. That's why his reaction was so strong when it was consumed by the Space Amoeba in TOS if you want to retcon) to see what an all Vulcan crew acts like would be magnificent if done well. And a look into an alien culture instead of Starfleet culture would be a refreshing change, like the time Riker was attached to the Klingon ship.
