46) A Private Little War

During a routine expedition to a serene planet he once visited 13 year before, Captain Kirk is shocked to discover that a conflict has broken out between two formerly peaceful societies -- the hill people and the villagers. Making matters worse, the villagers are armed with flintlocks, weapons that are far beyond their current state of evolution, but have been furnished to them by the Klingons. That forces Kirk into making the difficult decision to interfere and arm the hill people with the exact same weapons in an effort to establish a balance of power. But first, he must convince their peaceful leader, Tyree, that this is the correct route, even though he is vehemently opposed to fighting of any kind. In what is perhaps the most controversial episode of "Star Trek," "A Private Little War" made history when it aired in 1968 for being the first dramatic television series to directly address U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam. But that's where its relevancy is just beginning, for it applies to proxy wars of all kinds that have been raging around the world for years -- and continue to do so to this very day. As a result, " A Private Little War" remains a brutal, powerful and provocative episode that offers no easy answers or happy endings, which, unfortunately, is precisely the point.

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