Very Important Philosophical Questions

This morning my husband attempted to show my son Star Wars. Zane was only interested in the first five minutes, like he is with most movies...except Star Trek. And secretly I think that is awesome.

I am a Star Trek person. My husband claimed to be a Star Trek geek. In fact, that's sort of how we met: we were waiting for a parent to show up for a meeting, and in the course of our conversation Star Trek was mentioned. My husband claims that he was smitten at that moment. Except he's not really a ST geek, because he really only likes The Next Generation and Captain Picard. I let this slide in the name of love. Unfortunately, my husband also loves Star Wars. He's bi-sci-fi, I guess you could say. While I was as enamored of Han Solo as every other woman on Planet Earth, I was never quite converted to the Church of Star Wars.

I use the word "church" because when the average ST geeks and the SW geeks get together, it almost seems to approach the fervor of a Pentecostal revival the way the arguments fly over which is best and why. These people don't seem to practice religious tolerance, either: I've known perfectly calm and rational individuals to come out fighting if you slander "their show" by saying that Jar Jar was adorable or that Spock's ears are crooked.

We've already decided to raise Zane as Catholic with a side of Methodist, but we have not discussed the ST vs. SW question. My feeling is that there are advantages to both 'religions'. With SW you get to play with a light saber a lot, hang out in seedy bars with bounty hunters, and use the Force to smack people around. With ST you get to dance with some scantily clad green women, time travel, fight Klingons, and drink Romulan ale(throw in Duran Duran and we are describing my college years). Both ST and SW have characters that are archetypes that offer guidance on how to approach life, so that's not necessarily a deal breaker. But dammit, ST has George Takei! I think George Takei trumps Chewbacca any day!

Once the ST vs. SW question is resolved, hopefully before Zane is in his forties, there's an even bigger philosophical question we as parents will have to address, one that could have long-term repercussions for Zane and his ability to live in the state of Texas: Beans in the chili or no beans?

This parenting gig is tough!!